Find out the best way to get around Naře, how much bus tickets cost, or how difficult it is to get a taxi.

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On foot

Nara isn’t a big city, and most tourists move between Nara Park and the railway stations. The longest distances in this area are around 2 km, so you can easily get around Nara on foot.

Buses

The main transport network for getting around the city consists of buses operated by Nara Kotsu.

You can find timetables and current fare information on the website:navi.narakotsu.co.jp.

Routes and timetables

There are many regular routes, identified by numbers, and three tourist routes, identified by name.

• Map of regular routes:navi.narakotsu.co.jp
• Map of tourist routes:nara-access-navi.com

You’ll probably make the most of the tourist routes, as they’re significantly cheaper and cover almost the entire tourist area of Nara:

• Omiya Street Route – connects Nara Park with Kintetsu Nara railway station and continues along Omiya Street, passing hotels such as the Novotel Nara and the JW Marriott Nara, all the way to Yamato-Saidaiji railway station
  • On weekdays, it runs every 30 minutes from 9.00 am to 5.00 pm
  • At weekends and on public holidays, services run every 15 minutes from 9.00 am to 5.00 pm
• Nara Park Route – a circular route fromNara Parkthrough the city centre via Kintetsu-Nara and JR-Nara railway stations
  • Runs only at weekends and on public holidays at 15-minute intervals, from 9.00 am to 5.00 pm
• Wakakusayama Mountain Route – a short circular route aroundNara Park, which doesn’t save much time compared to walking
  • It runs only at weekends and on public holidays every 15 minutes, from 9.00 am to 5.00 pm

Of the regular services, the following connections are particularly useful for tourists:

• Nara Park – Kintetsu-Nara – JR-Nara: routes 1, 2, 6, 7, 55, 56, 57, 58, 61, 62, 77, 78, 97, 98, 123, 124 + Nara Park Route
• Kintetsu-Nara – Omiya Street (Novotel and Marriott hotels) – Yamato Saidaiji: routes 160, 161 + Omiya Street Route
• Kintetsu-Nara – Omiya Street (Novotel and Marriott hotels): routes 28, 160, 161 + Omiya Street Route

Fares – prices and how to pay

Most tourists will only need single-journey tickets, as you’ll usually only take the bus once or twice at most.

• 250 jpy – 1 journey on a regular scheduled bus
• 100 jpy – 1 journey on a tourist bus (Omiya Street Route, Nara Park Route, Wakakusayama Mountain Route)
• 600 jpy – an all-day ticket valid on the calendar day of purchase (valid on both regular and sightseeing routes)

Extended all-day ticket options covering a wider area are also available; see the official website:narakotsu.co.jp.

You should always board the bus via the rear door and alight via the front door.

You can buy a single-journey ticket from the driver as you alight. Payment is made in exact cash into the fare box. If you do not have cash, you can use the change machine to break a 1,000-yen note into smaller denominations.

Fares can also be paid using one of the 10 Japanese transport cards (Icoca, Suica, etc.).

Fares cannot be paid using a standard debit or credit card.

You can purchase a day ticket at the Nara Kotsu office at either JR-Nara or Kintetsu-Nara railway stations.

Taxis, Uber

There are no mobile taxi apps such as Uber or DiDi operating in Nara.

However, there are quite a few regular taxis on the streets, and you can hail one without any worries.

What’s more, there are taxi ranks in many places around the city, where there is always at least one taxi waiting. These ranks are mainly located near railway stations.

A journey between the main railway stations, Nara-JR or Kintetsu-Nara, and Nara Park will cost around 1 100 jpy.

Many taxi drivers also accept credit cards.

Train

When travelling around Nara, you’ll only use trains on the Kintetsu Railway.

There are three stations in Nara, with trains running between them roughly every five minutes.

• Kintetsu-Nara – Shin-Omiya – Yamato Saidaiji
• Fares range from 190 jpy to 240 jpy
• Official website:kintetsu.co.jp

All-day bus passes are not valid for train travel.