52 Sights in Nara, Japan (with Map and Images)

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Explore interesting sights in Nara, Japan. Click on a marker on the map to view details about it. Underneath is an overview of the sights with images. A total of 52 sights are available in Nara, Japan.

Sightseeing Tours in NaraActivities in Nara

1. Tōdai-ji

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Tōdai-ji is a Buddhist temple complex that was once one of the powerful Seven Great Temples, located in the city of Nara, Japan. Though it was originally founded in the year 738 CE, Tōdai-ji was not opened until the year 752 CE. The construcion of the temple was an attempt to imitate Chinese temples from the much-admired Tang dynasty. The temple has undergone several reconstructions since then, with the most significant reconstruction taking place in 1709. Its Great Buddha Hall houses the world's largest bronze statue of the Buddha Vairocana, known in Japanese as Daibutsu (大仏). The temple also serves as the Japanese headquarters of the Kegon school of Buddhism. The temple is a listed UNESCO World Heritage Site as one of the "Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara", together with seven other sites including temples, shrines and places in the city of Nara.

Wikipedia: Tōdai-ji (EN), Website, Website

2. Yakushiji Temple

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Yakushi-ji (薬師寺) is one of the most famous imperial and ancient Buddhist temples in Japan, and was once one of the Seven Great Temples of Nanto, located in Nara. The temple is the headquarters of the Hossō school of Japanese Buddhism. Yakushi-ji is one of the sites that are collectively inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site under the name of "Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara."

Wikipedia: Yakushi-ji (EN)

3. Heijō Palace

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Heijō Palace was the imperial residence in the Japanese capital city Heijō-kyō, during most of the Nara period. The palace, which served as the imperial residence and the administrative centre of for most of the Nara period from 710 to 794 AD, was located at the north-central location of the city in accordance with the Chinese models used for the design of the capital.

Wikipedia: Heijō Palace (EN)

4. Nara Park

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Nara Park is a public park located in the city of Nara, Japan, at the foot of Mount Wakakusa. Established in 1880, it is one of the oldest parks in Japan. Administratively, the park is under the control of Nara Prefecture. The park is one of the "Places of Scenic Beauty" designated by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). Over 1,200 wild sika deer freely roaming around in the park are also under designation of MEXT, classified as natural treasure. While the official size of the park is about 502 hectares, the area including the grounds of Tōdai-ji, Kōfuku-ji, Kasuga Grand Shrine and Nara National Museum, which are either on the edge or surrounded by Nara Park, is as large as 660 hectares.

Wikipedia: Nara Park (EN)

5. 五社神古墳

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五社神古墳

Empress Jingū was a legendary Japanese empress who ruled as a regent following her husband's death in 200 AD. Both the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki record events that took place during Jingū's alleged lifetime. Legends say that after seeking revenge on the people who murdered her husband, she then turned her attention to a "promised land". Jingū is thus considered to be a controversial monarch by historians in terms of her alleged invasion of the Korean Peninsula. This was in turn possibly used as justification for imperial expansion during the Meiji period. The records state that Jingū gave birth to a baby boy whom she named Homutawake three years after he was conceived by her late husband.

Wikipedia: Gosashi tomb (EN)

6. 松伯美術館

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松伯美術館

Shōhaku Art Museum opened in Nara, Japan, in 1994. It was established thanks to donations of artworks and the support of Kintetsu. The collection comprises paintings and sketches by Uemura Shōen, Uemura Shōkō , and Uemura Atsushi , and special exhibitions are staged to help promote the appreciation of Nihonga. The shō (松) element of the museum's name is derived from the first character of the first two of these artists' given names, as well as from the pines in the garden of the former honorary chairman of Kintetsu, where the museum now stands, while the haku (伯) element comes from its tea house, known as Hakusentei (伯泉亭).

Wikipedia: Shōhaku Art Museum (EN)

7. 福寺の跡

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Fukudera was a temple located in Nanjing-shu-cho, Nara City, Nara Prefecture, Japan. Fukudera Pond existed on the site until it was reclaimed in 1970 (Showa 45). The first appearance in literature is after the Muromachi period, but in the Edo period, it is identified with Fukudera (Hatoridera), a phantom temple whose whereabouts are unknown, which is said to have been founded in the Nara period, and in recent years, tiles that can be traced back to the Nara period have been found in the ruins of Fukuji Pond. In this section, we will also describe the "Clothing Temple" that is identified with it.

Wikipedia: 福寺 (JA)

8. やくよけ観音寺 慈眼寺(jiganji)

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Jigenji Temple is a Buddhist temple of the Nishiyama Jodo sect located in Kitakoji, Nara City, Nara Prefecture, Japan. The name of the mountain is Daihizan, and the main temple is the Bodhisattva of Saint Kanseon. It is said that the Kannon-do Hall was founded at the request of Emperor Shomu. It is known as "Yakuyoke Kannon". The 21st temple of the southern capital of the West Country. In addition, persimmon trees, which are more than 400 years old and are designated as natural monuments by Nara City, grow in the precincts.

Wikipedia: 慈眼寺 (奈良市) (JA)

9. 西大寺

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Saidai-ji (西大寺) or the "Great Western Temple" is a Buddhist temple that was once one of the powerful Seven Great Temples in the city of Nara, Nara Prefecture, Japan. The temple was first established in AD 765 as a counterpart to Tōdai-ji and it is the main temple of the Shingon Risshu (真言律宗) sect of Buddhism after the sect's founder, Eison (叡尊), took over administration in 1238. It has undergone several reconstruction efforts since then during the succeeding centuries.

Wikipedia: Saidai-ji (EN)

10. 常徳寺

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Jotokuji Temple is a temple of Nichiren Buddhism located in Kitamukai, Nara City, Nara Prefecture, Japan. The name of the mountain is Mt. Hosei. The main hall was built in 1686 and is a designated cultural property of Nara Prefecture. It enshrines the Great Bodhisattva of Asahi Myomi, which was dedicated by the Yagyu clan chief Suzu Oyamada during the Kyoho year (1716-1737). The former main temple is Kyoto Chomyoji Temple, and the main temple is the temple of the master of the temple.

Wikipedia: 常徳寺 (奈良市) (JA)

11. 春日神社

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Kasuga-jinja Shrine is a Shinto shrine located in Hokkeji-cho, Nara City, Nara Prefecture. Originally, Amenokoyane no mikoto was enshrined as a chinju-sha (shrine dedicated to the deities) of Kairyuo-ji Temple, but the left and right two shrines were enshrined together in the year of Kanen and were revered as ujigami (a guardian god). He was worshipped as a ujigami (guardian deity) of Hokkeji-cho by calling the Inatari-jinja Shrine Nishinomiya and the Higashi no Miya Shrine.

Wikipedia: 春日神社 (奈良市法華寺町) (JA)

12. 天石立神社

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Amano Iwata Jinja is a shrine located in Iwato Valley in Yagyu Town, Nara City, Nara Prefecture, Japan. It does not have a main shrine at the northern foot of a small mountain called Mt. Toiwa, at an altitude of 330 meters, and takes the form of directly worshipping the huge rock that sits on it. It is a Shikinai shrine that is described as "Tennoishidate Shrine" in the "Enki Shiki Shrine Name Book", and the former company status is a village shrine.

Wikipedia: 天石立神社 (JA)

13. 瓢箪山古墳

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瓢箪山古墳

The Saki Gourd Mountain Tomb is a front-posterior mound of the first half of the mid-Kofun period located in Sakiemondo, Nara City, Nara Prefecture, Japan. It is one of the Saki Shield Row Tombs and is often referred to simply as the Gourd Mountain Tomb, but this name is used here to distinguish it from the Gourd Mountain Tombs found throughout the country. This burial mound has been designated as a national historic site.

Wikipedia: 佐紀瓢箪山古墳 (JA)

14. Mount Kasuga

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Mount Kasuga

Mt. Kasuga is the common name of Hanayama, which is 497 meters above sea level on the east side of Kasuga Taisha Shrine in Nara City, Nara Prefecture, or Mt. Mikasa, which is 283 meters above sea level to the west. In some cases, Mt. Mika is distinguished as "(Kasuga) Maeyama" and Hanayama is distinguished as "(Kasuga) Okuyama". It is also used as a general term for mountain ranges such as Ryoyama and Mt. Yoshiyama (518m).

Wikipedia: 春日山 (奈良県) (JA)

15. Irie Taikichi's old residence

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Yasuyoshi Irie is a historical site and cultural facility located in Suimon Town, Nara City, Nara Prefecture, Japan. The former residence of photographer Yasuyoshi Irie. The photographer's detached darkroom, the study where the work was conceived, and the garden where the Manyo plant was grown are open to the public. The words "Taikichi Irie" on the nameplate are due to the volatilization of the boss Haeun.

Wikipedia: 入江泰吉旧居 (JA)

16. Nara Episcopal Church

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Nara Christian Church is a church of the Anglican Church of Japan located in Nara City, Nara Prefecture, Japan. In Showa 5, Western-style buildings that did not match the scenery of the Nara Park area were not recognized, so it was built as a pure Japanese-style church. It was designed and constructed by Kichitaro Oki, a member of the church and a palace carpenter. There is a transom inside the church.

Wikipedia: 奈良基督教会 (JA)

17. 伝香寺

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Denkoji Temple is a temple of the Ritsu sect located in Nara City, Nara Prefecture, Japan. There is no mountain number. The main Buddha is Buddha. The "scattered camellia" in which the petals scatter one by one is counted as one of the "Nara Three Famous Camellias" along with the "Glue Spill" of Todaiji Kaizando and the "Five-colored Camellia" of Hakuki-ji Temple.

Wikipedia: 伝香寺 (JA)

18. 菅原天満宮

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菅原天満宮

Sugawara Tenmangu is a shrine located in Sugawara-cho, Nara City, Nara Prefecture, Japan. It is a Shikiuchi company, and the former company name is Gosha. It is also called "Sugawara Shrine (Sugawara Jinja / Sugahara Jinja)". It is said to be the oldest Tenmangu shrine in Japan. It is known as a shrine related to the ancient clans of the Doshi and Sugawara clans.

Wikipedia: 菅原天満宮 (奈良市) (JA)

19. Suzakumon Gate

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The Suzakumon was the main gate built in the center of the south end of the imperial palaces in the Japanese ancient capitals of Fujiwara-kyō (Kashihara), Heijō-kyō (Nara), and later Heian-kyō (Kyoto). The placement followed the ancient Chinese palace model requirements at the time, where Suzaku , the Vermilion Bird was the Guardian of the South.

Wikipedia: Suzakumon (EN)

20. Kairyuo-ji Temple

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Kairyūōji Temple is a temple of the Shingon Ritsu sect located in Hokaji Kitamachi, Nara City, Nara Prefecture, Japan. There is no mountain number. The honzon is the eleven-sided Kannon. It was built in the northeast corner of the Empress Dowager Palace (the ruins of the residence of Fujiwara Fubi, etc.), so it has another name for Sumidera.

Wikipedia: 海龍王寺 (JA)

21. 崇道天皇陵

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Yashima Mauyo (Yashima no Misagi, Yashima Maryo) is the mausoleum of Prince Sawara in Yashima Town, Nara City, Nara Prefecture, Japan. It is also written as the Yashima Mausoleum, and it is also called the Emperor Sudo Mausoleum because the parent king was revered as Emperor Sudo. It was established during the Bunkyu years.

Wikipedia: 八島陵 (JA)

22. 奈良学園セミナーハウス志賀直哉旧居

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Shiga Naoya's former residence is a literary museum located in Takahata-cho, Nara City, Nara Prefecture, Japan. The former residence of the novelist Naoya Shiga of the Shirakaba school. It is also called Takahata Salon. It is open to the public and is also used as a seminar house for Nara Gakuen.

Wikipedia: 志賀直哉旧居 (奈良市高畑) (JA)

23. Kasuga-taisha

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Kasuga-taisha

Kasuga Taisha Shrine, Nara, Nara-shi, Kasugano Town, Kasugano Town, にある Shrine. Shikinai Shrine (Meijin Taisha Shrine), Twenty-two Shrine (Kamishichisha) の一社. 旧社格は官幣大社で、現在は神神本庁の別表神神。 Formerly known as "Kasukasha", Shinmoji "下がり藤".

Wikipedia: 春日大社 (JA), Website

24. 手向山八幡宮

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Tamukeyama Hachiman Shrine is a Shinto shrine near Tōdai-ji, Nara, Nara Prefecture, Japan. It is a Hachiman shrine, dedicated to the kami Hachiman. It was established in 749. Kami enshrined here include Emperor Ojin, Emperor Nintoku, Empress Jingū and Emperor Chūai in addition to Hachiman.

Wikipedia: Tamukeyama Hachimangū (EN)

25. Enshō temple

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Enshō-ji is a Buddhist temple complex in Nara founded by Queen Bunchi, daughter of Emperor Go-Mizunoo, in 1656. Together with Chūgū-ji and Hokke-ji, it is considered one of the Three Yamato Monzeki (大和三門跡), or imperial temples, belonging to the Myōshin-ji school of Rinzai Zen.

Wikipedia: Enshō-ji (Nara) (EN)

26. Toshodaiji temple

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Tōshōdai-ji (唐招提寺) is a Buddhist temple of the Risshū sect in the city of Nara, in Nara Prefecture, Japan. The Classic Golden Hall, also known as the kondō, has a single story, hipped tiled roof with a seven bay wide facade. It is considered the archetype of "classical style".

Wikipedia: Tōshōdai-ji (EN)

27. Uwanabe Kofun

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Uwanabe Kofun

Uwanabe Kofun is a circular mound located in Hokaji-cho, Nara City, Nara Prefecture, Japan. It is one of the burial mounds that make up the Saki Shield Row Kofun Group (Uwanabe Kofun Group), and is located at the easternmost point of the Kofun Group and is the largest giant burial mound.

Wikipedia: ウワナベ古墳 (JA)

28. Isuien Garden

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Isuien Garden Kimon Berlin (Gribeco) / CC BY-SA 4.0

Isui-en is a Japanese garden located in Nara, the old capital of Japan near Kyōto. It has been preserved since its creation in the Meiji era, and is the only walking garden in Nara. It is divided into two sections, which were originally two separate gardens, and each features a pagoda.

Wikipedia: Isui-en (EN)

29. 野神古墳

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野神古墳

Nogami Kofun is an ancient burial mound located in Nanjing-shu-cho, Nara City, Nara Prefecture, Japan. The shape is presumed to be an anterior-posterior mound. One of the burial mounds that make up the Daianji burial mound group. It is designated as a Nara City Designated Historic Site.

Wikipedia: 野神古墳 (JA)

30. 不空院 (Fukūin)

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Fukuin is a temple of the Shingon Ritsu sect located in Takahata-cho, Nara City, Nara Prefecture, Japan. The name of the mountain is Mt. Kasuga. The honzon is the Fuku 羂羂索Kannon. It is known as a rim-cutting temple because of its history of being a "kakekomi temple" in the past.

Wikipedia: 不空院 (JA)

31. Jurin-in Temple

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Jurinin is a temple of the Shingon sect Daigo school in Juwan -in -cho, Nara City, Nara Prefecture. The mountain name is Mt. Ameho. The principal is a stone -built Jizo Bodhisattva. It is located in a corner of Nara -cho, where the cityscape of the Edo and Meiji period remains.

Wikipedia: 十輪院 (JA)

32. 富雄丸山古墳

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富雄丸山古墳

Tomio Maruyama Kofun is an ancient burial mound located in Maruyama, Nara City, Nara Prefecture, Japan. The shape is a circular mound. It has not been designated as a historic site. The excavated items have been designated as important cultural properties of Japan.

Wikipedia: 富雄丸山古墳 (JA)

33. 十念寺

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Junenji Temple is a Buddhist temple of the Pure Land sect located in Nara City, Nara Prefecture, Japan. The name of the mountain is Mt. Ninja, and the official name is Mt. Ninja Aizen-in Kinbira Junen-ji. Hanazono Emperor's Imperial Palace. The honzon is Amitabha.

Wikipedia: 十念寺 (奈良市) (JA)

34. 佐紀石塚山古墳

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佐紀石塚山古墳XIIIfromTOKYOOpenStreetMapへの協力者 / CC BY-SA 3.0

The Saki Ishizukayama Tomb is an ancient burial mound located in front of the Imperial Tomb in the town of Yamaryo, Nara City, Nara Prefecture, Japan. The shape is an anterior-posterior mound. One of the burial mounds that make up the Saki Shield Row Tombs.

Wikipedia: 佐紀石塚山古墳 (JA)

35. Renchō-ji Temple

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The temple of Lai Chang (𞕽ょううじ) and Nara City Osaka Temple of the Yiji Zhong Chong Temple. History of the Historical History of the Historic Zilan. Mountain, light mountain. Old Ben Mountain Old Ben Yu Temple (six gates), Yu Yuan Fa (Lungyuan).

Wikipedia: 蓮長寺 (奈良市) (JA)

36. Himuro Shrine

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Himuro Shrine is a Shinto shrine in Nara, Nara Prefecture, Japan. It was established in 710. Kami enshrined here include Emperor Nintoku and Nukata no Onakatsuhiko no Mikoto (額田大仲彦命). The shrine's main festival is held annually on October 1.

Wikipedia: Himuro Shrine (EN)

37. 手力雄神社

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Terikio Shrine is a shrine located in Hashimoto-cho, Nara City, Nara Prefecture, Japan. Kasuga Taisha precincts. It is located on the east end of the north side of Sanjo-dori, and the rear is across the Tsukiji wall to become the Kofukuji Hall.

Wikipedia: 手力雄神社 (奈良市) (JA)

38. Buddhist Art Library

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Nara National Museum Buddhist Art Materials Research Center is a facility managed by the Nara National Museum established in 1980 (Showa 55) for the purpose of research, storage, and publication of Buddhist art materials and related materials.

Wikipedia: 奈良国立博物館仏教美術資料研究センター (JA)

39. Nara Palace Historical Park

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Heijo Palace is the inner part of Heijo Kyoto. In December 1998 (Heisei 10), it was registered as a World Heritage Site along with Todaiji Temple as a "cultural property of the ancient capital of Nara" (the first archaeological site in Japan).

Wikipedia: 平城宮跡歴史公園 (JA)

40. 円満寺

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Enmanji Temple is a temple located in Yamamachi, Nara City, Nara Prefecture, Japan. The honzon is a blue-faced Kongo. Yamato Northern Eighty-Eight Sacred Places No. 69. The temple office is also used as a community center in Shimoyama Town.

Wikipedia: 円満寺 (奈良市) (JA)

41. The Kids Science Museum of Photons

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Kidzu Hikari Kagakukan Futon is a science museum located in 8-chome, Umemidai, Kizugawa City, Kyoto Prefecture (Kizu District, Kansai Cultural and Academic Research City). It is the first science museum related to light in Japan.

Wikipedia: きっづ光科学館ふぉとん (JA)

42. Naramachi Museum

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The Nara Town Museum is a private museum located in Nishishinya -cho, Nara City, Nara Prefecture, and is located in the corner of Nara -cho, a town where a townhouse built from the early modern era of Nara City to the modern era.

Wikipedia: 奈良町資料館 (JA)

43. 光明山 賢故坊 浄福寺

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Jofukuji Temple is a Buddhist temple of the Jodo sect located in Kozenin-cho, Nara City, Nara Prefecture, Japan. The name of the mountain is Kōmyōzan, the name of the temple is Kozen-in, and the name of the temple is Kenshobo.

Wikipedia: 浄福寺 (奈良市) (JA)

44. Kombuin

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Kombuin KENPEI / CC BY-SA 3.0

Kofukuin is a temple of the Jodo sect located in Horen-cho, Nara City, Nara Prefecture, Japan. The name of the mountain is Mt. Horen. The main Buddha is Amitabha. Kaiki is also called Wakiki Kiyomaro and Fujiwara Momokawa.

Wikipedia: 興福院 (JA)

45. Tomb of Emperor Heijo

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Tomb of Emperor HeijoVanishingDuck / Attribution

Ichiiwa Kofun is an ancient burial mound located in Tsukamoto, Saki-cho, Nara City, Nara Prefecture, Japan. The shape is an anterior-posterior mound. One of the burial mounds that make up the Saki Shield Row Tombs.

Wikipedia: 市庭古墳 (JA)

46. Kiko-ji temple

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Kikō-ji (喜光寺) is a Buddhist temple in Nara, Japan. Founded in the eighth century, its Muromachi-period Hondō and the Heian-period statue of Amida Nyorai enshrined within are Important Cultural Properties.

Wikipedia: Kikō-ji (EN), Website

47. 帯解寺

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Obitokedera is a temple of the Kagon sect located in Nara City, Nara Prefecture, Japan. The name of the mountain is Mt. Zi'an. The honzon is Jizo Bodhisattva. It is known as a temple for praying for safe birth.

Wikipedia: 帯解寺 (JA)

48. Naramachi Ten-jinja Shrine

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Tenjinsha is a shrine located in Takahata, Nara City, Nara Prefecture, Japan. It is also called Naramachi Tenjinja Shrine. It is a heavenly shrine in Kitatenma, and the precincts are about 1,000 square meters.

Wikipedia: 天神社 (奈良市高畑町) (JA)

49. 佐紀陵山古墳

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佐紀陵山古墳XIIIfromTOKYOOpenStreetMapへの協力者 / CC BY-SA 3.0

Sakiryozan Kofun is an ancient burial mound located in Sanryo Town, Nara City, Nara Prefecture, Japan. The shape is an anterior-posterior mound. One of the burial mounds that make up the Saki Shield Row Tombs.

Wikipedia: 佐紀陵山古墳 (JA)

50. Kibizuka Tomb

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Kibizuka Kofun is a circular mound or anterior posterior mound located on the campus of Nara University of Education in Takahata-cho, Nara City, Nara Prefecture, Japan. It is said to be the tomb of Kibi Mabi.

Wikipedia: 吉備塚古墳 (JA)

51. Hishiage Kofun (Mausoleum of Iwanohime no Mikoto)

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Hishiage Kofun is an ancient burial mound located in Saki Town, Nara City, Nara Prefecture, Japan. The shape is an anterior-posterior mound. One of the burial mounds that make up the Saki Shield Row Tombs.

Wikipedia: ヒシアゲ古墳 (JA)

52. Konabe Kofun

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Konabe Kofun Modified by the uploader: Pocopen. / Attribution

Konabe Kofun is an ancient burial mound located in Hokaji-cho, Nara City, Nara Prefecture, Japan. The shape is an anterior-posterior mound. One of the burial mounds that make up the Saki Shield Row Tombs.

Wikipedia: コナベ古墳 (JA)

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Disclaimer Please be aware of your surroundings and do not enter private property. We are not liable for any damages that occur during the tours.