10 Best Places in Nara for Family Trips

Nara Park is located on the east side of Kintetsu-Nara Station. It covers an area of about 4 kilometres east-west and 2 kilometres north-south from the spacious precincts of Kofuku-ji Temple and Todai-ji Temple to the mountainous area in Okuyama with its dense primeval forest the sacred site of Kasuga Taisha Shrine.

Nara Park was opened in 1880. The park is planted with more than 1,000-year-old pine trees and its ground is covered with beautiful lawns. It’s also famous for its approximately 1,300 free-roaming deer. Temples and shrines designated as National Treasures or World Heritage Sites are scattered throughout the park, making it one of the leading sightseeing spots not only of Nara but of Japan as a whole.

Ikomasanjo Amusement Park was opened in 1929. Located on the top of Mt. Ikoma at an altitude of 642 metres, it commands a panoramic view of the Osaka Plain and the Yamato Basin.

The temperature here is 3 to 5 degrees lower than the plain area, making it a popular summer playground. The 30-metre-high Flying Tower plane ride has existed since the opening of the park, being the oldest large attraction of its type in Japan. The ITADAKI children's play area, which you can enter for an additional fee, has plenty of activities for children to use some energy.

Sigisan Chogosonshi-ji Temple is a temple dedicated to Bishamonten, one of the guardian deities of Buddhism. It’s believed to have been founded in 582 AD and is famous for possessing the Shigisan Engi Emaki (a picture scroll depicting stories about Mt. Shigi).

According to legend, when Shotoku Taishi prayed for victory on his way to fight his political enemy Mononobe-no Moriya on this mountain, Bishamonten appeared during the hour of the Tiger (between 3 and 5 am) on the day, month, and year of the Tiger, and thanks to the divine protection of Bishamonten, Shotoku Taishi defeated the Mononobe clan. Because of this legend, the Tiger has become an object of worship here and papier-maché tigers are found everywhere in the temple. Many people visit the temple on the day of the Tiger, believing that visiting the temple on that day will bring them blessings. The temple festival is held on the 1st, the 3rd, and the day of the Tiger every month.

NARAMACHI-KARAKURI Toy Museum is a joy for everyone from little children to grandparents. (Karakuri is a term that refers to Japanese traditional mechanical devices.) Toys from various places starting from the Edo period have been restored and are exhibited, and you’re free to pick them up and play with them.

The museum, which was built using part of a Meiji-era restaurant, conveys the style of a traditional townhouse in Nara and is designated as a Cityscape Formation Building by Nara City. Its courtyard also retains its former appearance with seasonal flowers and large camellia trees, creating a peaceful space attracting small birds. There’s also a studio building in the back of the garden where you can participate in a workshop and try your hand at producing karakuri toys.

The Ikoma Cable Line is made up of 2 different lines: the Hozan-ji Line connecting Toriimae Station and Hozan-ji Station, and the Sanjo Line connecting Hozan-ji Station and Ikoma Sanjo Station. The Hozan-ji Line is the oldest commercially operated cable car in Japan.

You’ll find cute cable cars with a dog's face, a cat's face or looking like a cake running alongside Japan's oldest retro-styled train, made in 1953. Ikomasanjo Amusement Park is situated at the top of Mt. Ikoma, where Sanjo Station, the last stop on the Sanjo Line, is located. It’s also the nearest station to Hozan-ji Temple, which is also called Ikoma-Shoten.

Tennenyamato Hot Spring Nara Kenko Land is a spa resort facility located in Tenri City. The sodium chloride spring that gushes up from 800 metres underground is called Yamato Onsen.

The facility not only has 10 types of hot spring baths, including a big bath and open-air bath, but also a sauna, a bedrock bath, an indoor leisure pool, an indoor theme park, a restaurant, and a children’s room. Towels, indoor clothes, and items for making up after taking a bath are also available, so you can come here empty-handed and you’ll be fine. If you stay at the adjacent Nara Plaza Hotel, you can use the big bath free of charge.

Kasugayama Primeval Forest has been carefully preserved for over 1,000 years, since hunting and the felling of trees in the forest were prohibited by an imperial order in the Heian period. Covering an area of more than 250 hectares, it was designated as a National Natural Treasure in 1955 and was registered as a World Heritage Site in 1998.

Although it’s regarded as the sacred mountain of Kasuga Taisha Shrine, the Kasugayama Promenade and Takizaka-no-Michi Trail are maintained in the forest, where you can enjoy hiking, and there are also attractions such as caves and the Uguisu-no-Taki waterfall along the way. You can also take the Nara Okuyama Driveway to visit the forest.

Agricultural Park Shigisan Nodoka Village is an agricultural park with the concept of experiencing nature and everything it has to offer. In the park, you can enjoy picking seasonal fruits, barbecuing, exercising, grass skiing, and attending various workshops throughout the year.

Its spacious lawn covers an area of about 12,000 square metres. You can enjoy harvesting various products according to the season such as strawberries, grapes, oranges, shiitake mushrooms, sweet potatoes and summer vegetables, on top of which you can take part in workshops and try making konnyaku (a jelly-like food made from the starch of konnyaku potato), soba noodles, and jam. There’s also a single-day camping site where you can bring in your own food and spend time in a healthy way.

Mahoroba Daibutsu Pudding is a custard pudding shop whose puddings have a reputation for their silky and smooth texture. The main branch, Purin-no-Mori Café, is a unique shop where the exterior and interior are designed to look like a pudding.

Flavours on offer include Yamato tea, unbaked cheesecake, chocolate, cappuccino, and local Yamato sake. They also have Shiroi Shika-no-Purin, a pure white pudding featuring cute white deer that’s said to be the messenger of a deity of Kasuga Taisha Shrine. You can find pudding in Mahoroba Daibutsu Pudding shops throughout the prefecture, but soft-serve ice cream is available only at the main store, so don't miss it.

Heisei Haibara Kodomo-no-Mori Park is a suburban park created by cleverly making use of the slopes of a mountain, located at the edge of the reservoir of the Murou Dam. In the large park surrounded by greenery, you can enjoy a barbecue or stay overnight at the campsite.

The most popular attraction here is Dinosaur Land, located on the top of a small hill. Children love the 400-metre-long corridor-shaped dinosaur playground. If you and/or your children like playing with water, check out the large fountain square equipped with spray devices and Mizuito-no-Taki, an artificial waterfall with a diameter of 27 metres.