Visited: September 3 (Thu)–5 (Sat), 2026
Weather: Rain on the first day, with occasional heavy showers
I met the Great Buddha.
I met the deer.
And then—
Wait… what do I do now?
Following This Nara Trip on the Map
This time, I spent three days in Nara, adding a little travel to a business trip.
From Todaiji to little detours through Naramachi, the restaurants where I ate, and the hotel where I stayed.
Walk, eat, rest, and walk again.
I put together all the places I stopped at during these three days on a Google My Map.
“Hmm, that place looks interesting.”
If something catches your eye, perhaps it can inspire your next trip to Nara.
In the first half of this journey, I walked through rainy Nara Park to Todaiji.
I took my time meeting the Great Buddha again, even though I had seen him before.
I also finally tried crawling through the pillar hole that I had given up on during my previous visit.
→【🚉Stopover Journey|Solo Trip to Nara – Part 1 | Meeting the Great Buddha Again】
Now, let’s go beyond the Great Buddha and the deer.
Walking Through Naramachi
I left Todaiji and headed toward Naramachi.
As I walked, a thought occurred to me.
Nara doesn’t seem to say, “Look at me!” very much.
That is, of course, just my impression.
When I walk through Kyoto, I sometimes feel as though beautiful things are presenting themselves to me.
Nara feels a little different.
When I move closer and look for myself,
“Oh, there’s something here.”
Little discoveries begin to appear.
So, what will I find?
Tasting Five Kinds of Sake at Harushika
I headed to Imanishi Seibei Shoten, the brewery behind Harushika sake.
Here, I tried five different kinds of sake.
The tasting cost ¥700 when I visited.
The tasting menu described the characteristics of each sake, with aromas reminiscent of white grapes and pears, apples and pineapples.
Now then.
Could I actually tell the difference?
…Well, I’m still a sake beginner.
Not enough of an expert to explain all the subtle differences. Haha.
Overall, they were sweeter than I had expected.
Since each serving was small, even someone like me who isn’t a strong drinker could enjoy comparing them.
And my favorite was—
“Tokimeki.”
A sweet sparkling sake.
It was a hot day, so it went down very easily.
I wanted a little more.
Maybe I should buy a bottle?
But the staff explained that the version I had tasted and the one sold in bottles were heat-treated differently, so the flavor would be slightly different.
And outside, it was raining.
I still had more walking to do.
Even a small bottle means more weight to carry.
…
Not this time.
Old Toys—and I Have No Idea How to Play with Them
Next, I headed to the Naramachi Mechanical Toy Museum.
Admission is free.
To be honest, I wasn’t expecting very much.
But then—
How do you play with this?
Some of the toys made no sense just by looking at them.
So I tried them with some help from the staff.
Change the way I hold the stick.
Nothing.
Try again.
Oh! It moved.
Apparently, old-fashioned toys require a little ingenuity from the person playing with them too.
People in the old days were pretty inventive.
And me?
I had automatically lowered my expectations just because admission was free.
My apologies.
I Only Meant to Escape the Rain—and Found Nara Crafts
When I stepped outside, the rain was getting heavier.
My next stop was the Nara Crafts Museum.
Here, I could not only see traditional Nara crafts but also touch some of the woods used to make them.
Katsura, kaji, hinoki.
Touch them.
Smell them.
“Oh, I know this smell.”
“I have no idea what this one is.”
It was a little different from simply looking at finished craftwork.
There were also handmade crafts for sale inside.
Beautiful.
I checked the price.
…
A few too many zeros for me.
I’ll support the crafts by admiring them instead. Haha.
The Rain Gets Heavier, So Back to the Hotel
It was still too early for dinner, but the rain was getting heavier.
So I headed back to the hotel for a while.
This time, I stayed at Hotel Tenpyo Naramachi, beside Sarusawa Pond.
Quite a while before the trip, I had been browsing a hotel booking site when I found a twin room that cost almost the same as a single.
Two nights.
Just me, but—
I booked the twin.
I have no idea why it was priced that way, but I got lucky.
The room was spacious, with plenty of room even after putting down my luggage.
Then I opened the shoji screen.
Oh.
Sarusawa Pond was right outside my window.
Not a bad front-row seat at all.
I Opened a Drawer and Found…
While looking around the room, I discovered something else.
Inside a drawer was a calligraphy set that lets you write with water.
Oh.
I want to try this.
But I hadn’t had dinner yet.
And I wanted to take a bath.
Maybe later.
…
I never did try it.
Well, that happens. Haha.
A Little Reconnaissance Before the Bath
At check-in, I had been told,
“Alcohol is available from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.”
But I assumed it cost extra.
Before heading to the bath,
I decided to do a little reconnaissance.
I went to the lounge and—
It’s free?
On the day I stayed, Harushika sake, white wine, and red wine were available.
I had just visited the Harushika brewery earlier that day.
And here was Harushika again.
It wasn’t the “Tokimeki” I had liked at lunchtime, but since it was here—
Don’t mind if I do.
It Was Supposed to Be Just Reconnaissance
Just a little.
…That was the plan.
I got a little carried away, then went to the public bath.
Back in my room,
I decided to rest for a moment.
…
I fell asleep.
I woke up and looked at the clock.
Oh.
The restaurant I was planning to visit is about to close.
Plan: destroyed.
I’ll have to save that restaurant for tomorrow.
Nothing I can do about it.
So, out into Nara at night.
On my way back to the hotel earlier, I had noticed another restaurant.
It was still open.
Let’s try this place.
And that was how I discovered an oyster-packed hot pot in a sake-kasu broth.
It even finished with piping-hot cheese risotto.
A food fighter with a sensitive tongue versus a bubbling-hot meal.
This was going to be difficult.
→【🍵Beauty & Taste| Nara | Drinks, a Bath… and I Fell Asleep. Then I Found an Oyster Sake-Lees Hot Pot】
The Hotel Became Part of the Journey
I usually don’t sleep very well when I travel.
But that night, I slept soundly.
I rested in a spacious room and soaked in the public bath.
The next day was a workday.
Maybe a hotel is part of recovering during a journey too.
It changed the way I think about accommodation, just a little.
That said—
I have no plans to start spending more on hotels from now on.
That’s a different matter. Haha.
The Next Morning Begins with Onigiri
The next day was for work.
But first, I went into Naramachi looking for breakfast.
I found an onigiri shop.
I chose homemade kombu and homemade salmon fillings.
But what stayed in my memory most was—
the miso soup.
At an onigiri shop. Haha.
→【🍵Beauty & Taste| Nara | An Onigiri Shop, but the Miso Soup Stole My Attention】
Picking Up Yesterday’s Abandoned Plan
After finishing work that evening,
I finally went to Hiraso, the kakinoha-zushi restaurant I had missed the night before after falling asleep.
At last, the abandoned plan was back on track.
I had dinner featuring kakinoha-zushi—sushi wrapped in persimmon leaves.
The flavors were distinct and well defined.
And yet, somehow, it still felt simple and unpretentious.
Delicious. But it doesn’t shout, “Look at me!”
That feeling.
Somehow, it reminded me of the Nara I had been walking through.
→【🍵Beauty & Taste| Nara | Yesterday, Oysters. Today, Persimmon: Kakinoha Sushi at Hiraso】
A Seafood Bowl for Lunch on Day Three
On the third day, I headed toward the station again for lunch.
That was where I found a seafood bowl limited to just ten servings a day.
Seven kinds of seafood over vinegared rice.
It came with miso soup and cost ¥1,000 when I visited.
And here, I made another little mistake.
I dissolved all the wasabi in the soy sauce.
Poured all of it over the bowl.
Took a bite.
…Hot.
Tears.
I tend to think it’s wasteful to leave anything behind.
But apparently, I did not need to use every last bit of wasabi.
Right to the end, I was still getting myself into something.
→【🍵Beauty & Taste| Nara | A Delicious Seafood Bowl… So Why the Tears?】
Staying in Nara, Spending Time in Nara
That evening, I left Nara.
These three days had not been only about sightseeing.
I looked for breakfast, ate dinner after work, and accidentally fell asleep at the hotel.
Staying in Nara, and simply spending time in Nara.
It gave me a slightly different Nara from a day trip.
Beyond the Great Buddha and the Deer
I met the Great Buddha.
I met the deer.
And when I kept walking beyond them, I found sake, old-fashioned toys, and traditional crafts.
There was also a night when nothing went according to plan.
Nara seems to become more interesting little by little when you go looking for it yourself.
Next time I come, I think I’ll look for something different again.
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