Nara Hotels

Nara is the capital city of Nara Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan. The city occupies the northern part of Nara Prefecture, directly bordering Kyoto Prefecture. Eight temples, shrines and ruins in Nara, specifically Tôdai-ji, Saidai-ji, Kôfuku-ji, Kasuga Shrine, Gangô-ji, Yakushi-ji, Tôshôdai-ji and Heijô Palace Remains, together with Kasugayama Primeval Forest, collectively form "Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara", a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Nara was the capital of Japan from 710 to 784, lending its name to the Nara period. The original city, Heijô-kyô, was modelled after the capital of Tang Dynasty China, Chang'an (present-day Xi'an). According to the ancient Japanese book Nihon Shoki, the name "Nara" derived from the Japanese word narashita meaning "made flat". The temples of Nara remained powerful even beyond the move of the political capital to Heian-kyô in 794, thus giving Nara a synonym of Nanto (lit. meaning "South Capital") as opposed to Heian-kyô, situated in the North.