Visit Nara

As you turn through the gates just off Nara Park, you see the classic Japanese landscape of Daijoin Garden on one side, then a series of magnificent wooden buildings with a grand entrance. Nara’s most venerable western hotel is unmistakeable. The main building was designed in 1909 by Kingo Tatsuno, who also designed Tokyo Station, as an elegant turn-of-the-century take on traditional Japanese style. It has hosted an international who’s who of guests, including Audrey Hepburn and Albert Einstein, whose piano is still on display in the lounge. There are many historic artifacts and a comfortable tea room to while away an afternoon. From the front of the hotel there is a small path leading past the gardens directly down to Naramachi, or you can walk through Nara Park past the beautiful pond with the wooden pavilion, Ukimido. From here it is a short walk to Kohfukuji Temple and Kasugataisha Shrine.