Nara

Nara was Japan’s first permanent capital, and for a city of its size it carries an outsized concentration of the country’s oldest temples — most of them within a single walkable park. The pull is twofold: Todai-ji’s Great Buddha, a 15-metre bronze figure inside one of the largest wooden halls on earth, and the roughly 1,200 sika deer that wander the park freely, bow for crackers, and mug visitors who left a map sticking out of a pocket. It is genuinely easy to do well, which is why it’s the standard day trip from Kyoto and Osaka rather than a base in its own right.

The one decision that shapes your day is the train. Aim for Kintetsu Nara station, not JR Nara: the Kintetsu terminus sits in the centre, five minutes from the deer, while JR Nara leaves you a twenty-minute walk or a bus away on the wrong side of town. The exception is a JR Pass, which makes the JR line free and worth the extra legwork. Once you’re off the train it’s a walking trip — flat from the station to the deer, then a gentle climb to Todai-ji and the lantern-lined approach to Kasuga Taisha.

A full day covers the Great Buddha, the deer, Kasuga Taisha and a slow lunch through Naramachi’s wooden lanes without feeling rushed. Staying overnight only earns its keep in two cases: you want the park to yourself at dawn before the coaches arrive, or you’re timing a visit to Kasuga Taisha’s lantern festivals in February or August. Below, the structured planning — what to book, what’s free, how to get in, and a realistic budget in pounds — picks up from here.