Nara

Discover the best family-friendly activities in Nara! Fun for kids and adults alike for a perfect family day out.

Family-Friendly

Popular Family-Friendly Attractions in Nara [2025]

Family-Friendly Attractions

Nara Shinji Park (also known as Nara Park) is a landmark attraction in Nara, Japan, renowned for its free-roaming sika deer and rich historical and cultural heritage. The park encompasses World Heritage-listed sites such as Todai-ji Temple and Kasuga Taisha Shrine. Admission is free throughout the day.

Basic Information and Historical Background
Nara Park, established in 1888, is one of Japan's earliest modern parks and designated a National Scenic Spot in 1922. The park covers approximately 660 hectares, stretching 4 kilometers from east to west and 2 kilometers from north to south. It encompasses key attractions such as Mount Wakakusa, Todai-ji Temple, and Kasuga Taisha Shrine. Its history dates back to 710 AD, when Nara was the capital of Japan. Kasuga Taisha Shrine still worships deer as divine messengers.

Features and Key Attractions
Sika Deer Herd: The park is home to approximately 1,300-1,500 wild sika deer, designated a nationally protected species. Visitors can purchase deer senbei (200 yen per bag) and feed them to the deer, who nod their heads in gratitude. ‌‌
‌Todai-ji Temple: One of the world's largest wooden structures, it houses the 15-meter-tall Vairocana Buddha and showcases Buddhist art from the Nara period. ‌‌
‌Kasuga Taisha Shrine: Its vermilion shrine and 3,000 stone lanterns create a unique spectacle. The Kasuga Festival is held every March 13th.

Nara Shinji Park (also known as Nara Park) is a landmark attraction in Nara, Japan, renowned for its free-roaming sika deer and rich historical and cultural heritage. The park encompasses World Heritage-listed sites such as Todai-ji Temple and Kasuga Taisha Shrine. Admission is free throughout the day.

Basic Information and Historical Background
Nara Park, established in 1888, is one of Japan&#39;s earliest modern parks and designated a National Scenic Spot in 1922. The park covers approximately 660 hectares, stretching 4 kilometers from east to west and 2 kilometers from north to south. It encompasses key attractions such as Mount Wakakusa, Todai-ji Temple, and Kasuga Taisha Shrine. Its history dates back to 710 AD, when Nara was the capital of Japan. Kasuga Taisha Shrine still worships deer as divine messengers.

Features and Key Attractions
Sika Deer Herd: The park is home to approximately 1,300-1,500 wild sika deer, designated a nationally protected species. Visitors can purchase deer senbei (200 yen per bag) and feed them to the deer, who nod their heads in gratitude. &zwnj;&zwnj;
&zwnj;Todai-ji Temple: One of the world&#39;s largest wooden structures, it houses the 15-meter-tall Vairocana Buddha and showcases Buddhist art from the Nara period. &zwnj;&zwnj;
&zwnj;Kasuga Taisha Shrine: Its vermilion shrine and 3,000 stone lanterns create a unique spectacle. The Kasuga Festival is held every March 13th.

When traveling to Japan, you will come to Nara Park, which covers a vast area and combines historical sites with natural landscapes. There are free-living sika deer and world heritage sites such as Todaiji Temple and Kasuga Taisha Shrine. Tourists can feed the deer with senbei at close range and experience unique interaction. It is worth a visit.

Nara Park is covered with light morning mist, and thousands of sika deer are walking on the moss, making low cries. Bells are hung on the eaves of the ancient temple, harmonizing with the sound of deer hooves; the golden bronze Buddha of Todaiji Temple looks down, reflecting the shadow of travelers with their hands folded. The red lacquered corridors of Kasuga Taisha are winding, and thousands of stone lanterns are lit one after another. Deer herds pass by the lights like flowing stardust. When the wind blows, Nara&#39;s thousand years of time sways gently between the deer bells and the Buddhist chants, so gentle that people want to stay there.

Whether it is the world heritage sites such as Todaiji Temple, Saidaiji Temple, Kofukuji Temple, Kasuga Taisha Shrine, or the cultural exhibitions in major museums, they all seem to declare the cultural heritage of this city.

Different from these cultural heritages, the more than 1,000 deer birds in Nara Park are also famous for their charm. How many people come here just to spend a leisurely afternoon with the deer!

They are like cultural ambassadors of Nara, loyally guarding this place; they are more like storytellers. When you get close to them, they will stick to your ears without reservation, as if telling you the story of Nara!

Come to Nara, buy a pack of deer biscuits, interact with the deer, or bring a book and sit for an afternoon. Here you will forget the existence of time. Isn&rsquo;t this the meaning of travel?

The deer in Nara are a must-see feature of a trip to Kansai, Japan

⛰️Introduction to attractions: Nara Park is actually an open area without a special fence. Compared to other attractions, the 🦌 here is the most concentrated, and there are more large deer 🫎. Children with children should pay attention to the fact that there must be an adult watching over the children when feeding the 🦌 to avoid being hit by some large 🫎 with antlers. Sit here for a while and experience the peaceful years with nature and deer. If you interact well, you can still capture a lot of beautiful photos with deer! [Color] Let the Nara 🦌 gently &quot;bump&quot; away our class flavor!

🚗Transportation information: It is not far from Kyoto or Osaka to take the JR. Get off from JR Nara Station and take a bus to Nara Park. When you see 🦌 everywhere on the roadside (don&#39;t doubt that they are sculptures, they may appear in any place you can&#39;t imagine and pose in a &quot;static frame&quot; state, waiting for you to get close to give you a surprise), get off immediately!

📝Check-in guide: Nara Park➡️Kasuga Taisha➡️Todaiji➡️Wakakusayama, there are deer everywhere, buy some deer biscuits and take photos with them. If you are afraid of being hit by deer, you can avoid some male deer with horns🦌. Generally, if you don&rsquo;t tease them maliciously, they will bow to you and ask for biscuits🍪

📌Price and other TIPS:
1️⃣ About buying deer biscuits: There are 2-3 fixed stalls in Nara Park for sale. The salespersons here are more majestic. Deer biscuits are sold open on the table. The deer lying next to them dare not grab them, but they will not be polite to the ones in your hands;
2️⃣ There are deer all the way from Nara Park➡️Kasuga Taisha➡️Todaiji➡️Wakakusa Mountain, so don&#39;t expect one pack of 🦌biscuits to be enough. It is recommended to buy 2-3 packs, hide two packs in a plastic bag first, break the pack you feed into several small pieces before feeding, otherwise when the little guys besiege you, I&#39;m afraid that the big piece of biscuits will be cleared all at once

Popular Family-Friendly Attractions in Nara [2025]

Nara Park

Popular ranking lists in Nara