Arriving at Kintetsu-Nara

Which exit to take

East for the temples, west for the lockers and the buses.

• Exit 2's own sign lists Nara Park, Todai-ji, Kasuga Taisha, Kofuku-ji and the Nara National Museum — it is the one to take for the temples.
• At Exit 5 a sign sends anyone heading for the park up the stairs to bus stop 1.

How far everything is on foot

Two figures for the park is not a mistake. The park is large. The prefecture measures to its nearest edge; the city tourism association gives a longer figure. Either way, the park starts almost at the station door. Todai-ji is the one people underestimate: at about 20 minutes it is a proper walk, uphill at the end.

Leaving your luggage

Drop it off before 14:00. The tourist information centre in the station building holds bags from 09:00–16:00, but stops accepting them at 14:00, and only takes a limited number. Arrive in the afternoon and you will be using a locker.

The lockers

Counts and prices from Kintetsu as of 2026-08-12.

Coins or card: check the bank before you unpack

Some banks take 100-yen coins only, six of them for a 600-yen locker. Other banks are the opposite: IC card only, with a panel that says cash is not accepted.

The locker room on the west side is run from a pay station that also takes QR payments and credit cards. There the QR code on your receipt is the key, and losing it costs 800 yen.

Read off the notice on the lockers, 21 September 2026. Prices seen on the doors that morning: ¥400, ¥600, ¥900, ¥1,000.

Buses from the station

Everything for the park leaves from stop 1, up the stairs from the west exit, on the main road, under a sign that reads "Bus Stop For Nara Park".

From the timetable at the stop, revised 2026-03-14. Stop code N-3.

City loop bus

For Todai-ji on a weekday, take the city loop bus clockwise to Todaiji Daibutsuden / Kasuga Taisha-mae (東大寺大仏殿・春日大社前) — 4 stops — and walk about 5 minutes. The fare is not published in a form we could read. It is shown inside the bus.

On the electronic board at the stop, the clockwise loop runs Kintetsu-Nara (N-3), Kencho-mae, Kencho-higashi, Himuro-jinja / Kokuritsu-hakubutsukan, then Todai-ji Daibutsuden / Kasuga Taisha-mae (N-7).

Nara Park Gurutto Bus

Tickets worth knowing about

• Nara Park & Nishinokyo World Heritage 1-Day Pass — ¥600 adults, ¥300 children, from the Nara Kotsu bus information centre beside stop 1. The name is the coverage: the Nara Park area and Nishinokyo, where Yakushi-ji and Toshodai-ji are. We have not yet read the small print on which routes count.
• Wakakusa Hilltop Bus — a direct bus up Mount Wakakusa for the view over the city, four times a day, every day in season. ¥2,000 return for adults, ¥1,000 for children, boarding at Kintetsu-Nara station bus stop, and JR Nara east exit stop 4.

Right next to the station: Kofuku-ji

Kofuku-ji is about 5 minutes on foot from the East ticket gate, Exit 2. It has three paid halls and a combined ticket that is only worth buying if you go into all three — the arithmetic is here, along with Todai-ji's.

Questions people ask

What we have not been able to confirm

• What the information centre charges to hold luggage, and the size limit. The city's page gives the hours but no price.
• The city loop bus fare to Todai-ji. The operator's fare search does not render outside a browser session.
• Nakatanidou's opening hours and when the mochi pounding happens. The shop's own site gives neither, and describes the pounding as work rather than a show.

Sources

• Nara Prefecture — Nara Park quick guide, Noborioji area
• Nara City Tourism Association — Nara Park
• Nara City Tourism Association — Kofuku-ji
• Todai-ji — access
• Kintetsu — coin lockers at main stations
• Nara City — Kintetsu-Nara Station Tourist Information Centre
• Nara Kotsu — bus stops at Kintetsu-Nara
• Nara Kotsu — Nara Park Gurutto Bus
• Nara Prefecture — Nara Park access navi, Gurutto Bus route
• Nakatanidou
• Photographed at the station, 21 September 2026