Tōdai-ji & the Great Buddha
Built in 752; the Daibutsuden remains one of the world's largest wooden buildings. The bronze Vairocana inside is 15 m tall.
Open in Maps ↗Prefecture profile · 都道府県
Nara 奈良県
Japan's first permanent capital and the country's quiet repository — eight UNESCO World Heritage temples, free-roaming sika deer, and a craft economy that still produces ink, brushes, and tea utensils to centuries-old patterns.
Capital
Nara City
Population
1.3 million
Area
3,691 km²
Region
Kansai
History
Nara was Japan's first sustained imperial capital. Empress Genmei established Heijō-kyō in 710, building a Chinese-grid city of roughly 100,000 people — extraordinary for the era — and importing the architecture, governance, and Buddhism that would define Japanese civilization.
When the capital moved to Heian (Kyoto) in 794, Nara was preserved by neglect: its great temples — Tōdai-ji, Kōfuku-ji, Yakushi-ji, Hōryū-ji (the world's oldest surviving wooden structure) — survived where capitals burned. Today eight separate sites are inscribed as a single UNESCO World Heritage property.
Postwar Nara chose preservation over industrialization. Building heights remain capped to protect sightlines to the Wakakusa hills; new highways and the bullet-train route were rerouted to spare the historic center. The prefectural economy leans on cultural tourism, traditional manufacturing (Nara ink, brushes, sake, mochi), and bedroom-community ties to Osaka and Kyoto.
Economy & business
Nara's prefectural GDP is around ¥3.9 trillion (about US$27 billion), the smaller end of Kansai. Roughly half the working population commutes to Osaka or Kyoto, giving the prefecture a high household income but a thin local industrial base. Manufacturing concentrates in precision components, traditional crafts (writing implements, religious goods, sake), and a small but high-margin tourism sector.
Key industries
Tourism & cultural heritage
Eight UNESCO sites and 1,800+ designated cultural properties draw ~45 million visitors annually.
Traditional crafts
Nara is the historic capital of Japanese sumi ink, calligraphy brushes (fude), and tea-ceremony utensils.
Sake & food
Birthplace of refined sake brewing (Shōryaku-ji, 15th c.); strong in nara-zuke pickles, kakinoha-zushi and mochi.
Precision components & textiles
Sharp's historical components plant in Tenri and a long socks-and-knitwear tradition in Kōryō and Yamato-Takada.
Forestry — Yoshino cedar
The Yoshino-Kumano range supplies Japan's most prized construction-grade sugi cedar.
Notable companies
Sharp (Tenri R&D)Yamato MannequinKintetsu Group HoldingsNankai PlywoodNakagawa Masashichi ShōtenKōfukudō (sumi ink)Bairindo (calligraphy brushes)Hashimoto ConfectioneryYamamotoyama (Nara tea)
Trade partners
ChinaUnited StatesSouth KoreaTaiwanGermany
Tourism highlights
Nara Park & the sika deer
Around 1,200 free-roaming deer treated as messengers of the kami of Kasuga Taisha. They have learned to bow for senbei crackers.
Open in Maps ↗Kasuga Taisha
Founded 768; renowned for its 3,000 stone and bronze lanterns lit during the twice-yearly Mantōrō festivals.
Open in Maps ↗Hōryū-ji
Founded 607; its central pagoda is the oldest surviving wooden structure on Earth. UNESCO World Heritage.
Open in Maps ↗Yoshino mountain cherry blossoms
30,000 cherry trees rising in four altitude bands — Hitome-senbon — bloom in slow sequence each April.
Open in Maps ↗Asuka village
The pre-Nara cradle of the imperial court — tumulus tombs, the Ishibutai dolmen, and the Asuka-dera Buddha.
Open in Maps ↗Did you know
Hōryū-ji's central pagoda has stood since the early 8th century, making it the oldest standing wooden structure in the world — older than the oldest stone cathedral in Europe by ~300 years.
Nara Park's deer are designated a national natural monument, not pets or livestock — under Japanese law they are protected wildlife that happen to live in the city.
Nara was the first prefecture in Japan to legally cap building heights for view protection (around the Wakakusa hills), in 1956 — long before such ordinances existed in Kyoto.
About Nara — Frequently asked
What is the capital of Nara?
The capital of Nara is Nara City.
What region of Japan is Nara in?
Nara is part of the Kansai region of Japan.
What are Nara's main industries?
Nara's key industries include Tourism & cultural heritage, Traditional crafts, Sake & food, Precision components & textiles.
What are the top tourist attractions in Nara?
Top attractions in Nara include Tōdai-ji & the Great Buddha, Nara Park & the sika deer, Kasuga Taisha, Hōryū-ji.
What major companies are based in Nara?
Notable companies headquartered in Nara include Sharp (Tenri R&D), Yamato Mannequin, Kintetsu Group Holdings, Nankai Plywood, Nakagawa Masashichi Shōten.
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