Hi,

I had originally planned a daytrip to Nara from Kyoto. Himeji castle too sounds fascinating but unfortunately have to make a choice between Nara and Himeji as we don't have time to visit both places. Whichplace should we visit?

Thanks

Hmmmmmm, I suspect most here will tell you to go to Nara which is one reason why I will recommend Himeji. I love the town! If you can get there before April 10, 2010, you will be one of the lucky ones to see the castle before it's scheduled five year renovation which includes covering of the whole castle starting after April 10.

I have seen Himeji during peak sakura and there is not much that will top that experience for me and it looks like you may have that same opportunity. Nara is fine but too many aggressive deer and people kinda ruined it for me and I guess I had anticipated too much.....

Just be ready for the crowds in both places.

Aloha!

They're both interesting, but if you have to choose, Nara wins hands down. While there's more to Himeji than the castle, that is the big attraction. Nara has several--maybe many--biggies. Nara's easier to get to from Kyoto than Himeji, and there's more to see by far. Once there, everything is within walking distance.

We really liked Himeji castle. It is awesome. We skipped Nara on both trips to Kyoto, as we had enough temples and shrines by then.
p.s. If you go to Himeji, watch out for the low ceilings as you climb the stairs inside and the low arches on the way out on the outside, or you'll get whacked on the head.

The keep at Himeji Castle is still open till April 11th. From April 12th to 31st March 2015, the keep will be covered by a shroud/shield. From April 12th to 31st January 2011, no entry into the keep. During the time when the keep is shrouded (but can still be visited after next January), entrance charge will be reduced from 600 yen to 400 yen.

Another vote for Himeji...for all the reasons hawaiiantraveler and emd3 gave above. We visited both and much preferred Himeji.

Actually we did both in a half a day each..take the high speed tran to Himeji...that is a trip in itself if you haven't traveled on one. We just visited the in town temples in Nara...that with Kyoto was enough temples in one trip for us.

If you will be in Japan before they start work on Himeji go. it is a wonderful old castle and different from what you see in Kyoto and Nara.

I vote for you to visit Nara. I was there about 3 years ago and found it to be an exciting little town which is very historic and cultural. There is more to it than the deer in Nara park. So, if you go, you can see many famous temples as well as get a glimpse of older Japan.

Nara is the heart and the original driving force of Japanese civilization.

Personally, I think Nara should be the first place all tourists to Japan should go so they can get a good knowledge about the history of the country.

There were I think seven emperors who came one after another and gave Nara its fame.

Many of the historic momuments are near Nara Park where there are many deer walking around. They are tame, yet can be scary sometimes as they follow you to get a bite of food.

The Kofuku Ji Temple is one of the main attractions. The five-story pagoda is gorgeous and has lots of history behind it too.

The Todai Ji is one of the most famous monuments of Japan. It is well known for the really very huge statue of Buddha. This monument was built for the 8th century,but had to be rebuilt twice after that.

Thus, you see, there is lots to see. You can see quite a bit even in one day. Or if you have more time you can visit all the monuments and also go to the outskirts and see additional sights.

Besides the monuments, I really enjoyed shopping and browsing in Nara Mache, which is more like an arcade for pedestrains. It is old-fashioned shopping with tiny little mom and pop stores with really friendly people who always have a smile on their faces and are ready to welcome you to the store.
I found it truly delightful to wander around this market and really see Japan that is far from large department stores.
Even the tiniest of the shops had the neatest display of exquisite items. And I was so amazed to note that every tiny store I stepped into even had a fresh flower Ikebana arrangement displayed somewhere. To me, that was a true sign--I am in Japan!

And I bought a few very tiny items at some of these little shops and to my amazement each and every item was beautifully packaged with so much care. The wrapping paper was gorgeous and the whole experience has been unforgettable.

Many wonderful tea shops handed out samples of Japanese teas and I purchased them only because the presentation was lovely and the ladies were such good representatives of Japan.

Also attended a beautiful tea ceremony and visited several gorgeous gardens.

So, visit Nara. There is lots to do and you will come back as a very happy tourist with great memories.

I'd say it depends on your interests!

I found Himeji quite wonderful, and if I understand your itinerary correctly from your previous posts, it would likely be the only castle you would see, so going there would add to the diversity of your experience of Japan.

Nara, as others have pointed out, has some wonderful temples and shrines with unique significance, as well as the deer park and a charming merchant district. I was very glad to see Nara, but it wouldn't add to the diversity of your experience in the same way as visiting Himeji. On the other hand, if you are interested in Japanese sculpture, the Kofukuji Treasure House has some of the most exquiste sculptures I saw anywhere in my 3-week trip to Japan, and the Nara National Museum also has some exceptional pieces that are displayed with the intent of helping visitors understand the development of sculpture and other Buddhist arts within Japan.

The good news is that both Himeji and Nara are great choices!

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4116.html

I haven't been to Nara yet, have been to Himeji and greatly enjoyed it as well as the garden next door.

But this year is the 1300th Anniversary of Nara - see above post - so maybe it would be better to go there.....

The japan-guide.com site has a specific date for covering of the main keep (Apr 12). However, the Himeji city's site has pdf files which simply say work will start in 2009 and the main keep will be fully covered by a roofed scaffolding structure. There is even a picture of the fully covered structure which I am hoping is what it will be post Apr 12 and not what it looks like now. Has anyone visited recently that can report on how much of the castle is still visible?

Thanks

kdd, yee of little faith,lol

here is the live webcam view

http://www.123-cams.com/travel-10074...stle-View.html

http://www.123-cam.com/live-webcam.p...ion&Language=1

Aloha!

That's fantastic! Yes, the castle is very much visible. Now I can check the site until we leave for Japan.

Thanks

We visited both - Nara as day trip from Kyoto, and Himeji castle as day trip from Osaka.

These two sites can not be compared, but we enjoyed more at Nara. We loved there the temples, the small town and the park.
Himeji is nice from outside, impressive.We did not like the interior, there are too many empty rooms, no decorations at all, and we are not interested in guns.
We visited near Himeji the Japanese garden Koko-en, which is nice.

If you want to visit a castel, why not visit Nijo castle in Kyoto? While its exterior is not so impressive as this of Himeji, inside are many beautiful and decorated rooms. The garden of Nijo is magical during sakura time.

From 12th April, visitors will NOT be allowed into the keep, the most interesting part of the castle, even if the structure itself isn't yet covered up - this is to allow preliminary work to take place within the donjon. This will continue until the end of January next year.

dont even compare! Nara man. Nara is a big ancient city. Himeji there is only one castle.

Another vote for Himeji. We had a great day there the castle itself is amazing and the gardens are worth an hour or two. Also worth a trip is taking the cable car to Mount Shosha, including Engyoji temple which was used for some scenes in The Last Samurai.
Nara was good but I found it to be very busy with other tourists and the deer got to be a pain after the novelty wore off. However the shopping is very good there. Some photos of both places can be found on our blog (entries 27 &29):

http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog...ai/1/tpod.html

Many respondents seem to have limited their visits to Nara to just the deer park. This is not the main attraction, in my view.

The top sights of Nara are the ancient temple complexes just outside the town. Horyu-ji has the oldest wooden buildings in the world (7th century), Toshodai-ji has the "supreme example of Nara temple architecture" (the kondo) and the only example of Nara palace architecture (the kodo), while Yakushi-ji's pagoda is from 730. You can do a circuit of these three in a day.

Similarly, although the hall of the Great Buddha is the obvious focus at Todai-ji (the largest wooden building in the world, though only 2/3 the size of the original), the really interesting things are the outlying temples up the hill--the picturesque nigatsudo (on stilts) and the sangatsudo, which dates to around 850 and houses magnificent statues (no photos allowed). The neighboring Tamukeyama Hachimangu shrine is picturesque, too. There's a road of restaurants and souvenir shops just past this.

The deer park is of little interest, but it houses the Kasuga Grand Shrine, which is attractive (especially in the fall and, I imagine, the spring). On weekends there'll be lots of families with kids in traditional dress doing ni-san-go ceremonies at the Kasuga shrine. Outside the park is the Kofuku-ji which has many ancient halls and statues and 3- and 5-story pagodas; there's a classic view of the 5-story pagoda from the nearby Sarusuwa-ike.

There's another pond (Sagi-ike) with nice views on the way to Shin Yakushi-ji. This temple is not that interesting from the outside, but houses really spectacular statues (again, no photos allowed).

Uji is between Nara and Kyoto; it contains the Byodoin (one of the most famous and beautiful buildings in Japan), the Ujigami jinja (oldest shrine building in Japan), and is the scene of famous battles and of the final chapters of Gengi monogatari. It's also famous for tea, and you can sample and buy it there.

I should add that these sites repay a bit of preparation--old temple buildings look like wooden shacks if you haven't read up a little beforehand.

Download the Nara Walks leaflet from the JNTO site for practical information: http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/location/rtg/index.html

Honestly if I had to choose between the two, I would pick Nara.

Pleasepleaseplease don't underestimate the fun it can be to play with the deer in Nara!

I took my family there when they came recently, and they LOVED the deer! Let me tell you, that whole Japan trip with the family was very stressful, but one of the few times we really came together was over those deer in Nara!

Himeji is nice too but the memories I have of Himeji aren't as high up on my list as those I have of Nara.

The 1300th Nara anniversary event is pretty big as well.

Unless you're going to Miyajima where they have deer too, I would strongly recommend Nara.

In addition it is a very easy 45 minute train ride from Kyoto. We literally went to Kinkakuji at 11 AM, did Nara, had lunch, played with deer, saw temples, and were back in time for dinner.

Bringing this to the top as I was wondering the same thing and, in doing a search, this thread from the past came up. We’ll be in Kyoto at the end of our nearly 4-week trip in the fall and would love to get current thoughts of which would people would visit as a day trip.