Nara, Japan, Was Simply Named the Metropolis With the Most Hidden Gems

In 2024, Japan welcomed 36.87 million guests. Most individuals who come to Japan usually spend their time exploring Tokyo or Kyoto, and whereas there’s nothing flawed with that, the nation has a lot to supply to those that enterprise off the everyday, well-trodden vacationer paths.

A latest examine by Bounce—a baggage storage community with drop-off places throughout the globe—sought to pinpoint the place Japan’s most neglected locations are. After constructing a listing of Japan’s most populous cities, it used data from journey websites like The Invisible Vacationer and Japan Journey Professionals to find out the proportion of hidden gem points of interest in every metropolis and area. It then used Tripadvisor evaluations, and different digital instruments to search out out which locations had the best variety of “glorious” evaluations.

After evaluating all the information, it discovered that Nara was the Japanese metropolis with essentially the most hidden gems.

Nara Metropolis (the capital of the eponymous prefecture of Nara) is dwelling to a bit of over 367,000 folks and is positioned simply 20 miles east of Osaka and 28 miles southeast of Kyoto. It’s well-connected to each through trains and buses, making it a simple choice for a day journey.

The charming metropolis is maybe finest identified for the 1,400 wild deer who roam round Nara Park and bow for treats. Legend has it that in historic instances, the Japanese god of thunder got here to Nara on a white deer, and the descendants of that deer now populate the city’s park—they have been cherished as “messengers of the gods” for greater than 1,000 years and at the moment are protected “Pure Monuments.”

Nevertheless, take into account that regardless that Nara Park is a well-liked (and cute) picture hotspot, the deer are nonetheless wild animals and have to be handled with respect. Do not feed them something aside from the deer crackers which are accessible for buy, and be aware of your litter. In 2019, 9 deer died after consuming plastic baggage and wrappers that weren’t correctly disposed of.

Even be cautious that deer are sensible and know when you might have cookies. “Throughout my go to, I discovered the deer can typically swarm you in the event that they see you holding baggage of cookies,” Susmita Baral, a senior editor at Journey + Leisure mentioned. “You may see some with shaved off antlers—they’re those prone to headbutt you for a deal with. It is secure however simply be aware that these are wild animals.”

Most guests to Nara cease by the park after which head on their method to Kyoto or Osaka, however with over 499 points of interest inside metropolis limits, there’s a lot to do right here. Nara is dwelling to a few of essentially the most beautiful temples in Japan in addition to a number of lovely gardens and shrines. The Buddhist temple Yakushi-ji is taken into account to be one of the necessary and oldest temples in Japan, and dates again to the late seventh century. On the sting of city close to the Kasugayama Primeval Forest, you’ll find Kasuga Taisha, Nara’s most celebrated Shinto shrine, which is legendary for its eye-catching cypress body and its attractive hanging lanterns.

Within the examine, Nara was adopted by Kyoto, Kanazawa, and Takamatsu—all of that are conveniently related to Tokyo through the Shinkansen, aka Japan’s bullet prepare system.

For the total listing of locations, try bounce.com.