The 15 Best Nara Day Trips from Kyoto

World Heritage Kyoto & Nara Uji Authentic Matcha Experience - Meeting at Kyoto Avanti at 7:50 a.m.

1.World Heritage Kyoto & Nara Uji Authentic Matcha Experience

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · from $129Our pick

Explore Nara’s deer, Todai-ji, Kasuga Shrine, and Uji’s matcha traditions on a full-day Kyoto coach tour with lunch options.

“We had a wonderful time. The deer were so cute, just be sure to bring yen to purchase the crackers for feeding them if you want to. Our guide Yuta was very informative and made sure that no one got lost. We enjoyed the traditional Japanese lunch. My favorite part was visiting the matcha shop and enjoying the tea there.”

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Kyoto/Osaka: Nara, Fushimi Inari Taisha, Arashiyama Bus Tour - Starting in Osaka or Kyoto

2.Kyoto/Osaka: Nara, Fushimi Inari Taisha, Arashiyama Bus Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 9 - 10 hours · from $52Best value

See Nara’s deer, Fushimi Inari’s torii gates, and Arashiyama’s bamboo forest on a guided Kyoto and Osaka day tour.

“We toured around Kyoto with our guide Theodore Chan. A friendly and professional guide who brought us smiles and laughter all the way around the tour. Amazing guide. We rreally enjoyed the tour and was great value for money for anyone wanting to see Kyoto!”

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Osaka/Kyoto: Arashiyama, Nara & Fushimi Inari Shrine w/Lunch - Lunch at Kyoto Wasabi in a 120-year-old townhouse

3.Osaka/Kyoto: Arashiyama, Nara & Fushimi Inari Shrine w/Lunch

★★★★★★★★★★4.4 · from $61

See Arashiyama, Nara Park, and Fushimi Inari in one day, with Kobe beef shabu-shabu lunch and guided transport from Osaka or Kyoto.

“Our tour guy Gary was Amazing. Definitely worth doing the this tour lots to see and so many historical sites! Very entertaining and fun trip - time just flies by. Highly recommend the tour!”

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Nara Early Morning Tour (Kyoto or Osaka Departure Available) - Kofuku-ji Temple and the famous five-story pagoda

4.Nara Early Morning Tour (Kyoto or Osaka Departure Available)

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · from $61

Beat Nara’s crowds on a four-and-a-half-hour small-group walk to temples, shrines, deer park, and the Great Buddha from Kyoto or Osaka.

“We had a wonderful tour with Ayame! Ayame was so nice and easy to talk to. She showed us around and told us if the history of each place we went. We highly recommend doing a tour with Ayame! You won’t be disappointed.”

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Kyoto and Nara Day Trip from Kyoto - Starting below Kyoto Station at 8:20 a.m.

5.Kyoto and Nara Day Trip from Kyoto

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · from $194

See Kyoto’s Nijo Castle, Golden Pavilion, and Imperial Palace, then visit Nara’s Great Buddha, shrine lanterns, and free-roaming deer.

“It is a very nice introductory tour to Kyoto and Nara and the guide was very informative and fluent in English.”

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Nara Afternoon Tour from Kyoto or Osaka - The long approach to Todai-ji Temple

6.Nara Afternoon Tour from Kyoto or Osaka

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · from $102

Visit Nara from Kyoto or Osaka with an English guide, Todai-ji’s Great Buddha, Kasuga Shrine lanterns, and Nara Park deer in 5 hours 40 minutes.

“Nice short trip. Good to see the temple and feed the deers. Guide was good. Thanks. I think a little more should be spent on English speaking guides. No doubt they are good and very polite and helpful.”

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From Kyoto: Nara Guided Morning Tour - Meeting at Kyoto Station at 7:50 AM

7.From Kyoto: Nara Guided Morning Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.6 · 4 hours · from $77

See Nara’s Great Buddha, sacred deer, and Kasuga Taisha on a guided half-day trip from Kyoto, with transport, entry, and multilingual audio support.

“It was an amazing experience. Our guide Den was very attentive and explained interesting facts about the places we visited. We enjoyed feeding the deers. Todai-ji temple was also impressive! We recommend this tour! Franco & Luiza”

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Ancient Capital Tour: Kyoto and Nara Highlights from Kyoto/Osaka - Arashiyama and the Sagano Bamboo Forest

8.Ancient Capital Tour: Kyoto and Nara Highlights from Kyoto/Osaka

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · from $90

See Arashiyama, Kinkaku-ji, Nara Park, and Todaiji in one guided day from Kyoto or Osaka, with transport, Wi-Fi, and optional lunch.

“If you only want to visit Kyoto and Nara to see briefly its highlights (not much details and less spots) then this tour is for you. Josh was a very nice guide. There were only 12 of us on this tour which made it better as less people to consider. Downside was in Nara as we couldRead more”

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Kyoto/Osaka: Kinkakuji, Bamboo Forest, and Nara Deer Park - Arashiyama’s bamboo path and the Katsura River

9.Kyoto/Osaka: Kinkakuji, Bamboo Forest, and Nara Deer Park

★★★★★★★★★★4.4 · from $69

Visit Kyoto’s Golden Pavilion and bamboo forest, then feed Nara’s deer and see the Great Buddha on a well-priced guided day trip.

“Good example of a perfect guided day trip. Entertaining, informative, beautiful scenery, not too packed schedule. Eiko is an amazing and very knowledgeable guide, she provided us with background information on all the sites while traveling + a detailed plan in case anyone got lost and needed to find their way back. On top of that, she was able to get the whole group deer crackers in Nara at 4pm when all the stores had already been sold out. Thanks so much for the unforgettable experience!”

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