Hotels near Horyu-ji

Horyu-ji, out in Ikaruga town southwest of Nara city, holds the oldest surviving wooden buildings anywhere in the world. The Kondo and the five-storey pagoda in the Western Precinct date to roughly 700, rebuilt after a fire in 670 destroyed the original foundation laid by Prince Shotoku in 607. Tree-ring dating on the pagoda's central pillar put the felling year at 594. Horyu-ji became Japan's first UNESCO World Heritage site in 1993.

The complex covers around 187,000 square metres and holds some 2,300 registered cultural properties. Entry is 1,500 yen and covers the Western Precinct, the Great Treasure Gallery and the Eastern Precinct with its octagonal Yumedono hall of 739. Hours are 8am to 5pm from February to early November and 8am to 4:30pm the rest of the year. Give it three hours at the very least; the walk between the two precincts eats fifteen minutes on its own.

Pro Tip: Ride the JR Yamatoji Line from JR Nara Station to Horyuji Station, 11 minutes and 230 yen, and go first thing in the morning. Pick up Yakushi-ji and Toshodai-ji on the way back rather than the other way round, because Horyu-ji after a morning in Nara Park leaves you too tired to look at any of it properly.