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Naramachi

Naramachi

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Top ways to experience Naramachi

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.


4.0
4.0 of 5 bubbles352 reviews
Excellent
115
Very good
171
Average
60
Poor
4
Terrible
2

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loulou089
england457 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2023 • Couples
This area has some very beautiful old buildings. Koshino Le is a reconstruction of an old Japanese house. It is free. There are also some lovely little shops which are much cheaper then the touristy ones. Bought a lovely linen scarf . Good cafes nearby to have lunch. If you like architecture this area is very interesting.
Written October 15, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

vadordarg
Paris, France907 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2023 • Family
Quite ugly neighborhood, without character. It's hard to look for pretty houses. Worthless compared to Takayama or Kurashiki, or certain areas of Kyoto or Tokyo. In short, in Nara, you have to concentrate on the temples!
Google
Written August 27, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

SOH KIEN PENG
Singapore, Singapore9,571 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2017 • Couples
We stayed in Nara for one night after coming from Osaka. I booked a hostel that is located within Naramachi and it took me more than half an hour to walk from Kintetsu Nara Station to the lodging. While searching for my hostel, I wandered around the quaint neighborhood of Naramachi and found the atmosphere uniquely calm and peaceful. The lanes were so clean and I could hardly find a cigarette butt or rubbish on the floor. It was surprisingly quiet and full of rustic charm that I thought it was an abandoned town. You see more of the residents at the BIG supermarket in the neighborhood and we had our sushi set dinner purchased at discount rate from the supermarket at 6 pm.

I was in a rush to explore Nara Park. If only I had the luxury of time, I could have explored the many heritage houses and temples that lined up in the neighborhood. I saw a tour guide leading a group of Japanese visitors into one of the temples and she was explaining to them the history and significance of the temple.

The next day morning after checking out from the hostel, I came across a restaurant offering organic food and had our breakfast in the restaurant. Nice ambiance and the food was so lovely cooked.

This neighborhood contains a well of old heritage buildings. I strongly suggest that you read them up before commencement of the exploration or get a local guide to bring you around. The signboards outside the houses were written in Japanese and I hardly understood the comments. Some even don't have any signboards but are heritage houses.

I love Japanese residential neighborhoods which are so clean, peaceful, tranquil and full of traditional rustic charm.
Written February 1, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

combat66
Metro Manila, Philippines4,544 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2017 • Family
Be sure to drop by the visitor center first and get a map from the very helpful people there. They will give you a map of the area and the interesting houses to visit. We toured inside of a replica of a traditional house . The lady who was there was very friendly and even gave my daughter an origami as a parting gift.
Written July 27, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Kai C
Half Moon Bay, CA1,331 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2020
Definitely spare some time to walk around the Naramachi area with its wooden houses and countless boutiques, small restaurants, galleries and small shrines/temples. And it still feels intensely lived in.
Written January 31, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

John R
Oak Hill, TN61 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2019 • Couples
This is definitely worth a visit if you are in Nara after visiting the obvious temples and shrines. Take some time to wander the narrow streets and go in a few of the quaint shops and cafés to have sweet delicacies and tea.. Also a nice covered shopping area that is full of interesting shops but not crowded like the larger shopping areas in Osaka and Tokyo. Easily accessible from the yellow loop bus that takes you to all of the main temple sites.
Written March 12, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Klaatu2013
Oslo, Norway17 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2018 • Solo
This is my favorite part of Nara. Nice to just stroll around in the summer heat and walk in to shops, small museums and teahouses. No comparison to Gion (Kyoto) but this is a quieter neighbourhood and feels less commercial. Seems to me like the people here really wants to show their culture and crafts. And they take an interest in you and you will definitely have some interesting chats about japanese culture. Highly recommended if you visit Nara.
Written August 9, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

wingedfaerie
Perth, Australia303 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2015 • Couples
We took a trip out to Nara from Kyoto and found the whole place to be a bit underwhelming, to be honest. The park was OK (nice deer) but nothing special. Saying that, we were there in December when Japan really isn't at its best, it could be prettier at other times of year. Todaiji Temple with the enormous Buddha was quite impressive but I was expecting more from Nara. Likewise, I was expecting much more of Naramachi. In the tourist guides, the area had been described as the old part of town with old houses and quaint, winding alleyways. Yes, there were old houses however I didn't find it even remotely interesting or atmospheric.

If you're after that quaint, traditional Japanese feel, I'd go to the area around Sannenzaka close to Kiyomizu-dera Temple in Kyoto. It's far more atmospheric, especially at dusk.
Written March 5, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

terrythy
Bristol, UK238 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2019
"Old Towns" are all over Japan. Areas that have been protected from demolition or redevelopment. However, if you only have a short trip, Nara's might be OK to get a feel of what it Japan looked like before the concrete age.
On an overnight trip or if you are in high season and Gion is so full you can't see the lower two metres of any building then Nara is less crowded and uncommercialised and it might be worth wondering around. ... if you aren't seeing any rural parts of Japan, walking any part of the Nahashendo trail or visiting the fishing villages along the inland sea or visiting Kanazawa with it's extensive areas of protected "Old Japan", then Naramichi would be in some way rewarding to any first time visitor.
Written December 22, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Vampyreq
Singapore, Singapore39 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Sep 2019
Old town, traditional, quiet?
I guess I expected way too much going to this area, we walked quite a distance from Nara park and this place was just average. Thought the toy museum was going to be interesting but it's actually not as "wow" as I thought it'll be. We walked around for about 20 minutes and left as there wasn't much to do.

We may have missed some treasures, who knows. 30 minutes should be good here.
Written October 23, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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Naramachi - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)

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