Kyoto and Nara Day Tour including Golden Pavilion and Todaiji Temple from Osaka

Osaka, Japan

Enjoy seeing the main sights of both Kyoto and Nara in one day. This day tour takes you to Nijo Castle, Kinkakuji Temple (Golden Pavilion), Kyoto Imperial Palace and the Kyoto Handicraft Center in Kyoto, then the Todaiji Temple, Deer Park and Kasuga Shrine in Nara.

Kyoto was Japan's capital and the emperor's residence from 794 until 1868. It is now the country's seventh largest city with a population of 1.4 million people and a modern face. Enjoy this morning tour to see some of the main highlights of this wonderful city, steeped in culture.

Japan's first permanent capital was established in the year 710 at Heijo, the city now known as Nara. Nara is located in the Kinai plain, less than one hour from Kyoto. Due to its past as the first permanent capital, it remains full of historic treasures, including some of Japan's oldest Buddhist temples.

Note important itinerary changes for departures on Saturday, Sunday and Public Holidays - Instead of Nijo Castle, the tour will visit Ryoanji Temple. Instead of the Kyoto Imperial Palace, the tour will visit Nishi Honganji.

Nijo Castle The Kyoto Residence of the Tokugawa Shogun built in 1603, Nijo Castle is noted for the contrast of its solemn appearance and gorgeous interiors. On Tuesday's in January, July, August and December when Nijo Castle is closed, the tour will visit Ryoanji Temple instead.

Kinkakuji Temple (Golden Pavilion) Kyoto's most popular temple is the home of perhaps the world's most authentic and exquisite Japanese Garden, as well as the celebrated Golden Pavilion.

Kyoto Imperial Palace  The ancient Imperial Palace clearly shows the Japanese taste for purity, simplicity and calmness. On Saturdays, Sundays and national holidays the Kyoto Imperial Palace is closed, tour will visit Kitano Tenmangu instead. This shrine is known as the god of study.

Todaiji Temple Todaiji Temple, constructed in the 8th century, is one of Japan's most famous and historically significant temples. In it's huge precincts are various national treasures of Japan. The Daibutsuden (Great Buddha Hall) is one of the world's largest wooden buildings.

Deer Park Over 1,000 tame deer roam freely in the verdant 1,250 acres peaceful park. If you wish to feed the deer, they will gladly eat from your hand.

Kasuga Shrine The most famous and beautiful Shinto shrine in Nara, it features some 3,000 antique stone and bronze lanterns.

USD $193.34

Traveler Reviews

Review by: janisburton	December 2011
This tour is ideal if you have a limited time to visit, and want to see the highlights of Kansai region. The tour guides were very helpful and knowledgeable. It is well worth the cost and time. They keep you on a tight schedule, but the time allocated was adequate for our interests. The buffet lunch was just okay, though.

Review by: Alfonso Jr A	December 2011
The tour was quite informative and land systematic. it would have been better if we were given more time to do a llittle souvenir shopping in every stop.

Review by: Albertine J	December 2011
It was very good as we were able to visit many places. The tour group was just the right number - 6 people so we were able to interact well with each other. The tour guide knew her Japanese history and her humor made the whole tour fun. It would have been better though if the lunch served was Japanese food.

Review by: Gigi	August 2011
Originally, I wanted a Saturday tour, but when my husband saw that the Saturday tour will not include Nijo Castle and Kyoto Imperial Palace, two hours after booking we decided to change the date to Friday. We found out that viator.com cannot process that quickly. We were told that there will be a cancellation charge. It wasn't a cancellation but a change of date only. The places we visited were nice (though it might have been great if we saw the Nijo and Imperial castles instead) but the tour guide was not that articulate. The escort (the sweet lady who met us near our hotel and accompanied us to the meeting place of the group) was very accommodating and she speaks English fluently. The buffet lunch was just very simple. All in all, the tour did not meet our expectations.

Review by: Dianna M	July 2011
We booked this trip for 17 June and had the best day. Our guide was interesting, very funny and a world of knowledge. Could answer any question we put to him. The most amazing temples and shrines. Japan is so clean everywhere you go. Loved our day and especially the deer park. I would advise anyone to take this day trip. You wont regret it.

Review by: demaro	May 2011
Great!!!! Wonderful. Every tour guide was very helpful. The organization was very good. Transportation was super. We had perfect weather which also helped.

Review by: Robert S	May 2011
Great Guide, excellent driver. Would have been nice before hand to know this day was a national holiday and everything would be EXTREMELY crowded and the roads would be backed up with cars and buses.

Review by: james r	May 2011
Great trip! Very well organized, perfect tour for those who just want to sit back and have someone show you everything. We ended up breaking away from the tour many times just to take pictures and bought the souvenir books later to read about it. This way we got to take many pictures and listen to the translator when we wanted. I read that the tour seemed to be rushed which it ended up to be, so we did our own thing and took many pictures and read the books at a later time. We have tons of pictures! The deer park and last shrine of the tour is breathtaking..way to end the tour.

Review by: Karen B	May 2011
I really enjoyed the trips I took with Viator .com and from start to finish the tours and guides really look after you. The guides are really knowledgeable and very friendly. There weren’t many on the tour due to the recent activity in Japan so it felt like you were with a group of friends and not on a tour at all. The buffet was nice too even though some suggest otherwise. I’m living in Korea so a mixture of Asian and western food was a welcomed changed. I can’t really moan about the anything and my highlight was feeding the deer’s… a must thing to do. Thanks for a great memory and I will consider using you again!.

Review by: Frank T	January 2011
Fantastic day with knowledgeable guides. Well organised tour. Everything went according to plan._br/_ Lunch was excellent at the handicraft centre, offering a vast assortment of delicious Japanese and western dishes. Highly recommended.

Review by: zhangyu5288	January 2011
one of worst tours taken so far, I don't like temple, I like nature thinks not man made stuffs. :( :(

Review by: Thuan Seng C	December 2010
The guides are very professional and knowledgable in the respective locations we were shown around.

Review by: Melissa	December 2010
Overall experience was good. The tour guide spoke very good english. I would suggest though that other attractions like museums and parks be included in this itinerary.

Review by: Prapapan D	December 2010
We enjoyed the day!

Review by: Ioannis K	October 2010
Not cheap, good to see the basics when limited time is available, but little time to spend at sites.

Review by: Krishnan V, Australia	April 2010
Fabulous day out! Provides sufficient coverage of the two culturally significant cities.

Review by: Vincent C, Malaysia	April 2010
Nice 1 day tour of Kyoto and Nara from Osaka. Well organized with good English speaking guide is helpful. The lunch period was a rush, otherwise, it was a great value for money trip. A point to note, Japan's public facilities are not very friendly to children stroller if you are traveling with one!

Review by: Johan H, Australia	April 2010
Those places that included in tour were great but it is too rushed. Not really child friendly, because everything is rushed. Don't give enough time to take photos while also listening to the history. No time to look at the souvenirs shop in the area. Lunch at Handicraft was also rushed, they only gave approx 40mins only for lunch with so many people to queue for food and toilets, it means you already loose time. Did not even get a chance to look any gifts at handicraft centre before joining the afternoon tour to Nara.

Review by: Anonymous, United States of America	April 2010
Informative and enjoyable tour.

Review by: Francis N, Australia	February 2010
It was our 1st day on this tour after arriving the night before into Osaka. We loved it all, the temples & castle in the morning, especially the Golden Pavillion. It actually snowed for us while there, and they say it happens only 1-2 times per year. The lunch was brilliant & the afternoon deer park & Shinto shrines. Others only did the morning part & said now that they should have taken the full day tour with us. My only objection was that the price could have been a bit lower.

Review by: Thomas S, Canada	December 2009
The tour was excellent, in view of the fact we had only a short time to visit the area. Our guide had to be one of the top two tour guides we have ever been with in tours of Europe, Mediterranean, China, North America and Asia. The transportation was very good as well.

Review by: Mario S, Australia	December 2009
A great tour highly recommended, fantastic service and very knowledgable guides.

Review by: Annette W, Australia	September 2009
Excellent tour! The guide was very helpful and spoke English well. Well worth going on, the sights were great and lunch at the Handicraft Center was very good! Would have liked more time at various places, however it was a good introduction to Japan.

Review by: Larry D, Philippines	June 2009
Enjoyed the tour, lets you experience Japanese history and culture in a day. The tour guide spoke good English and provided a number of interesting trivia. I found the morning Kyoto tour a bit rushy, but understandable because we had to cover more ground. The afternoon Nara tour was a lot more relaxing, we were given close to 2 hours free time to walk around the Nara temple and deer park. Lunch buffet can be improved though. Cheers.

Review by: Cindy B, United States of America	May 2009
I really enjoyed the trip. I was met at my hotel in the morning with an escort to help me navigate the subway and trains to get to the tour location in Kyoto. She was wonderful. The tour was great. There were many wonderful sights to see, with time to explore some at each site. It was sort of busy, with school kids at each location, but it was not a major problem. I was able to see everything without a problem. I would have liked to have had more time at the Handicraft Center, but ended up going back on my own the next day so it was fine. One of my favorite parts was the Nara Deer Park, where if you hold the biscuits up high and bow, the deer will bow to ask for a biscuit. They can be quite assertive, so you need to firm in what you will do. The larg Buddha was amazing to see. This was such a wonderful tour. I would highly recommend it. After the tour I was met by another escort in Nara that helped me to return to my hotel in Osaka. I always felt well taken care of and the guides were very knowledgable. It was one of my better experiences in Japan. I felt completely comfortable traveling on the tour as a single woman traveling alone.

Review by: Gert H	April 2009
Unfortunately the group was much too big. Therefore a lot of time was wasted by waiting for all passengers getting out of the bus. Kyoto is definitely worth of visiting - but not in such a flock of sheep. The afternoon in Nara was a smaller group and we had enough time to see everything.

Review by: Anonymous	April 2009
The tour was very well organized. There was a bit of confusion at the beginning when we were waiting to get onto the motorcoach in Kyoto, as they weren't too sure we were part of the larger tour as a few of us originated from Osaka and not Kyoto hotels. Anyhow, it was sorted out and everything was smooth after that. We were fortunate to have our hotel as one of the pick-up points in Osaka and we had a personal tour guide with us on the train to Kyoto, which was very good. There was no rush at any of the tourist sites and plenty of opportunity to take photos. Both the morning Kyoto guide and the afternoon Nara guide were very knowledgeable. I would and already have recommended this tour to people who want to see the historical Japan.

Review by: James M	February 2009
Overall tour was great. We had to walk to pick up others for tour and then train ride 30 min to hotel where tour actually left from. Sites and guide were great. If you're travelling with someone that is disabled or a slow walker you may want choose other options. Osaka was a great stop on our trip around the world.

Review by: Ken S, South Korea	December 2008
The tour arrangements from pickup to return points were excellent. Guides were very knowledgeable about the subjects and did an excellent job. Took time to answer questions.

Review by: Anonymous	December 2008
The tour arrangements from pickup to return points were excellent. Guides were very knowledgeable about the subjects and did an excellent job. Took time to answer questions.

Review by: Janet P, Australia	November 2008
Just awesome! our guide was great had a good sense of humour. Just mind the deers don't eat you at Nara.

Review by: Kristeen Q, Australia	July 2008
The only word is great!

Review by: Mark F, Australia	June 2008
I was met at the agreed upon time by a fantastic tour escort, who looked after me from Osaka to Kyoto. In Kyoto, the group was about 20-25 people, and we were all well looked after. Nara was fantastic, and I highly recommend this tour if you are short on time and want to see as much as possible.

Review by: Ulla S	June 2008
It was very interesting to see and hear about historical Japan. We stayed in Osaka, which we loved, and this tour was an opportunity for us to get to know the different side of Japan and its history. Everything was very well organized and the guides gave us lots and lots of information on the places we visited and on the life in Japan both nowadays and in the past. Everything in this tour was as promised on the website we booked the tour.

Review by: Diane S	May 2008
We were well looked after and the trip was everything they promised.

Review by: Romana K	February 2008
The tour was timely and organized. The staff was kind and helpful. If you don't have much time to look around Kyoto and Nara, and if you don't understand Japanese very well, this tour is very worth doing.

Review by: Shaun H, New Zealand	December 2007
This was really good.

Review by: SHAUN H	December 2007
This was really good.

Review by: Anonymous	October 2007
In one day I was able to take in several must-see sights of both Kyoto and Nara. The sightseeing trip was very organized and extremely informative. If you're traveling to a foreign country where you don't know the language, this is the best way of getting around, taking in sights and learning about the place you are visiting. I would most definitely use Viator again.

Review by: Anonymous	May 2007
It was ok for an introduction to the area. Not enough time to see the places we went to. Missing the palace was a big deal for me but I went by myself the next day anyway instead.

Review by: Deborah K	May 2007
I think in retrospect I would have liked to see more of Nara and to have a full day there instead of half a day. The guides were great about getting us to and from the trains.