Places to visit in Nara, Japan
8 places to visit in Nara, Japan, each with LOQAH's carefully crafted stamp of its own: Horyu-ji, Kasuga Taisha, Kofuku-ji and more. Stand at any of them with the app open and the stamp is yours, confirmed on site, in your Nara volume.
7 UNESCO World Heritage sites · 1 Famous place to visit
UNESCO World Heritage sites in Nara (7)
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Horyu-ji
Built in Ikaruga shortly after Buddhism reached Japan, this temple has some of the oldest wooden buildings in the world. Its full name means Learning Temple of the Flourishing Law, and it served as both seminary and monastery.
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Kasuga Taisha
The shrine of the Fujiwara family, founded in 768 on the wooded eastern edge of Nara. Stone lanterns line the approach by the thousand, and bronze lanterns hang in rows from its vermilion corridors; all are lit at the lantern festivals held twice a year.
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Kofuku-ji
Once one of the powerful Seven Great Temples of Nara, and still the national headquarters of the Hosso school of Buddhism. Its five-storey pagoda rises at the edge of Nara Park as a landmark of the old capital.
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Mount Yoshino
A mountain ridge in central Nara Prefecture, about eight kilometres long and dotted with shrines and temples around Kinpusen-ji. For centuries it has been the most celebrated cherry blossom spot in Japan, with tens of thousands of trees flowering in stages up the slopes.
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Todai-ji
A temple complex in Nara whose Great Buddha Hall shelters a bronze Buddha about 15 metres tall. Founded in 738 and opened in 752 on the model of Tang dynasty temples, it was once one of the powerful Seven Great Temples.
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Toshodai-ji
A temple founded by the Chinese monk Jianzhen, known in Japan as Ganjin, who reached Nara after several failed voyages. Its single-storey Golden Hall, seven bays wide under a hipped tiled roof, is considered the archetype of the classical style.
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Yakushi-ji
One of the Seven Great Temples of Nara, first built in the 7th century at the earlier capital of Fujiwara-kyo, and said to be a scrupulous copy of the original. It is the headquarters of the Hosso school, and its twin pagodas face each other across the main courtyard.
Famous places to visit in Nara (1)
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Nara Park
A large public park at the foot of Mount Wakakusa, established in 1880 and one of the oldest parks in Japan. More than 1,200 wild sika deer, protected as a natural treasure, roam freely among the temples and bow to visitors holding deer crackers.
Collecting in Nara
What are the best places to visit in Nara?
LOQAH lists 8 places in Nara. The best known include Horyu-ji, Kasuga Taisha, Kofuku-ji, Mount Yoshino and Todai-ji. Each has a stamp of its own to collect when you are there.
How many LOQAH stamps are there in Nara?
8, and more are added over time. Each place has LOQAH's carefully crafted stamp of its own.
How do I collect a stamp in Nara?
Open LOQAH at the place and get its stamp. LOQAH checks where you are once, at that moment; at the place itself the stamp is confirmed on site, with a gold badge.
I have been to places in Nara before. Can I add them?
Yes. In Earlier trips, choose Nara and swipe through its stamps, or import your Google Timeline. Each one goes into your volume with the date, if you know it.
More in Japan
Collect your first stamp.
LOQAH is free on iPhone and Android, in India and 20 more countries, with more countries on the way. Stand at a place, collect its stamp, and keep every trip in a passport that grows.