Ancient Capitals: Nara & Asuka

From $1,765.00
5 Days & 4 Nights
5
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Ancient Capitals: Nara & Asuka

  • The rural countryside and terraced ricefields of the small village of Asuka
  • Follow a pretty forested trail to the atmospheric Tanzan Shrine
  • Explore Todaiji temple in Nara, housing a 16-metre tall golden buddha
  • Follow in the footsteps of ancient warriors on the Yagyu Kaido walk to Nara
  • Enjoy two nights in a lovely hot-spring ryokan in Nara
Visit the historic capitals of culturally rich Nara and rural Asuka on this 5 day extension which can be easily combined with any of our Kumano Kodo itineraries. Travelling by train from either Kyoto or Osaka you make your way to Asuka, a peaceful rural village where life moves at a lovely slow pace. Enjoy a couple of walks here or perhaps hire a bike to cycle through the lush terraced rice fields. Continue by train to Nara, the first capital of Japan, which features no less than 8 World Heritage Sites. Walk in the footsteps of ancient warriors from Yagyu to Nara and explore Nara Park, with its famous deer and temples. Finally, make your way by train back to either Kyoto or Osaka. Overnight stays are in a small minshuku in Asuka and a lovely hot-spring Ryokan in Nara, giving you a truly authentic experience of these ancient capitals.

Itinerary

Day 1 Travel to Asuka from either Kyoto or Osaka 5.5 miles / 9 km Day 2 Asuka Tanzan Shrine Walk 8 miles / 13 km Day 3 By Train to Nara, Walk the Yamanobe no Michi 10 miles / 16 km Day 4 Walk the Yagyu Kaido in Nara 7 miles / 11 km Day 5 Onward Travel to Kyoto or Osaka
THIS TRIP'S CARBON SCORE

This trip has a carbon score of 15kg per person per night, meaning it’s one of our best trips! For comparison, a carbon count of 15kg is equivalent to 88.5 candy bars. Here at Macs, we pride ourselves on being a responsible travel company and continue to adopt, develop and innovate ways to positively impact the environment. Find out more information about how we've carbon counted our trips.

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