Guides · Japan
Nara tickets
Ticket and booking rules for Nara: timed entries, closing days and official links, checked September 2026.
Checked September 2026 against official sources
Nara
Bookings and opening rules
Follow the official link before you buy. Full walking days: Nara itinerary.
Tickets and opening days
- Tōdai-ji's Great Buddha Hall is open 7:30 to 17:30 from April to October and 8:00 to 17:00 from November to March; admission is ¥800 for adults and ¥400 for elementary-school children, the Tōdai-ji Museum is ¥800 and ¥400, and the combined ticket for the hall and the museum is ¥1,200 and ¥600.Source: Tōdai-ji, opening hours and admission fees · checked Sep 2026
- Kasuga Taisha is open 6:30 to 17:30 from March to October and 7:00 to 17:00 from November to February; the inner sanctuary costs ¥700, the treasure hall is open 9:00 to 17:00 (last admission 16:30) at ¥500 for adults, and the Man'yō Botanical Garden is ¥500 for adults and ¥200 for children.Source: Nara City Tourism Association, Kasugataisha Shrine · checked Sep 2026
- Kōfuku-ji's halls are open 9:00 to 17:00 with last entry at 16:45; the Central Golden Hall is ¥500 for adults, ¥300 for junior-high and high-school students and ¥100 for children, the Treasure Hall (National Treasure Museum) ¥700, ¥600 and ¥300, and the Eastern Golden Hall (¥300) is currently closed.Source: Nara City Tourism Association, Kohfukuji Temple · checked Sep 2026
- Tōshōdai-ji is open 8:30 to 17:00 with last admission at 16:30; admission is ¥1,000 for adults, ¥400 for teenagers and ¥200 for children, cash only.Source: Official Nara Travel Guide (Nara Visitors Bureau), Toshodaiji Temple · checked Sep 2026
- The 78th Annual Exhibition of Shōsō-in Treasures at the Nara National Museum runs from Saturday October 24 to Monday November 9, 2026, open every day 8:00 to 18:00 and until 20:00 on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and holidays with last entry 60 minutes before closing; general admission is ¥2,000 and ¥1,500 for university and high-school students.Source: Nara National Museum, 78th Shōsō-in Exhibition · checked Sep 2026
- The Nara Kōtsū bus 1-Day Pass costs ¥600 for adults and ¥300 for children and covers central Nara including Nara Park, Tōdai-ji, Kasuga Taisha, Kōfuku-ji and Naramachi; the 1-Day Pass Wide is ¥1,100 and ¥550 and adds the Hōryū-ji area; the 2-Day Pass is ¥1,650 and ¥830; all are sold at the JR Nara and Kintetsu Nara bus information centres and at Kansai International Airport.Source: Nara Kotsu Bus Lines, bus passes · checked Sep 2026
On the day
What to watch at each stop
Nigatsu-dō
- Open all day, free; the Hokke-dō and Kaidan-dō 8:30–16:00, ticketed
Questions
Quick answers
Which days should I plan around?
Tōdai-ji's Great Buddha Hall is open every day, 7:30 to 17:30 from April to October and 8:00 to 17:00 from November to March; its museum opens at 9:30. Kasuga Taisha is open 6:30 to 17:30 from March to October and 7:00 to 17:00 in winter, with the inner sanctuary and the treasure hall from 9:00. Kōfuku-ji's halls are open 9:00 to 17:00 daily; the eastern golden hall is currently closed. The Nara National Museum is open 9:30 to 17:00 and closed on Mondays, except during the Shōsō-in exhibition from October 24 to November 9, 2026, when it opens every day from 8:00. Mount Wakakusa is open only from March 21 to December 13 in 2026. Hōryū-ji and Tōshōdai-ji open every day of the year.
How much do the tickets cost?
Tōdai-ji's Great Buddha Hall is ¥800, the museum ¥800 and the two together ¥1,200; Nigatsu-dō is free. Kasuga Taisha's outer precincts are free, the inner sanctuary about ¥700, the treasure hall ¥500 and the Man'yō garden ¥500. Kōfuku-ji's central golden hall is ¥500 and the treasure museum ¥700. The National Museum's permanent collection is about ¥700, the Shōsō-in exhibition ¥2,000. Isuien is about ¥900 with its museum; Yoshiki-en is free. Mount Wakakusa is ¥150. Gangō-ji is about ¥500. Hōryū-ji is about ¥2,000 including the treasure gallery, Chūgū-ji about ¥600, Yakushi-ji about ¥1,000 and Tōshōdai-ji ¥1,000. Deer crackers are ¥200 a bundle. The Heijō Palace site is free.
How do I get around?
On foot for days one and two: everything is within 2 km of Kintetsu-Nara station, which is closer to the park than JR Nara. For day three, the JR line to Hōryūji and the Kintetsu line to Nishinokyō, or the Nara Kōtsū bus with the one-day pass, ¥600 for the park and Nishinokyō or ¥1,100 for the wide version that adds Hōryū-ji, sold at the bus information centres at both stations. Kyoto is 35 minutes by Kintetsu limited express and Osaka-Namba 40 minutes; Kansai airport is about 90 minutes by limousine bus. Bicycles rent by the station and suit the flat western plain.
The days these rules belong to
3 days in Nara
Nara is smaller than its reputation: the park, the great temples, the shrine and the old merchant quarter are all within two kilometres of Kintetsu-Nara station, and days one and two are walked. Day three uses the JR line to Hōryūji station and the Kintetsu line to Nishinokyō for the temples of the plain, or the Nara Kōtsū bus with the wide one-day pass that covers them all. Tōdai-ji's Great Buddha Hall opens at 7:30 from April to October and 8:00 in winter; Kasuga Taisha opens at 6:30 in summer; the National Museum closes on Mondays; Mount Wakakusa is open only from the third Saturday of March to the second Sunday of December. Most people come for a day from Kyoto or Osaka, 35 to 45 minutes away by Kintetsu express, which is why the mornings before 9:00 and the evenings after 17:00 belong to those who stay. The Shōsō-in treasures are shown only from October 24 to November 9 in 2026.
