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Kyoto and Nara 1 Day Trip - Golden Pavilion & Todaiji from Osaka

Osaka, Japan

Kyoto and Nara Day Tour Including Golden Pavilion and Todai ji Temple from Osaka

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From $161.22

Select Date and Travelers

up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)

11 hours
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

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Overview

See Kyoto and Nara’s spectacular sights on a full-day sightseeing tour of the cities from Osaka. Accompanied by a licensed guide, gain fascinating insight into the rich historical heritage of the region’s legendary landmarks. Begin your cultural excursion with a guided tour of the ancient Nijo Castle, and then absorb the aesthetic majesty of both Kyoto Imperial Palace and Kinkaku-ji Temple. Then explore nearby Nara, home to majestic monuments like the Great Buddha of Tadoi-ji Temple, Nara Park, and Kasuga Shrine.

Experience the historical treasures of Japan’s former capitals with a professional English-speaking guide
Visit Nijo Castle, Golden Pavilion and Kyoto Imperial Palace in Kyoto
View Kasuga Shrine and Todai-ji Temple in Nara
Enjoy a typical Japanese lunch (if option selected)
Travel by coach, JR Rail and Kintetsu Rail

What's Included

National Government Licensed English Guide Interpreter fee
Other admission fees and transportation costs included in the tour
Lunch (only if you select "With Lunch" option when booking)

Hotel pick-up/drop-off
No Free Wi-Fi access
Gratuities
Drinks

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

Hotel Granvia Osaka
3-chōme-1-1 Umeda, Kita Ward, Osaka, 530-0001, Japan
Please meet by 7:15AM. Tour departs at 7:25AM. Meeting point: Hotel Granvia Osaka 1F Lobby Lounge (not the 19th floor with front desk)

Start time

07:25 AM

End point

Osaka-Namba Station
Japan, 542-0076 Osaka, Chuo Ward, Namba, 2-chōme3, 4 丁目 1-17
End at Osaka Namba Station around 6:30PM

What To Expect

Meet your guide and group in Osaka, climb aboard the JR Special Rapid Service train to Kyoto, Japan’s former capital. Listen as your guide sets the historical scene of the sprawling city, offering information on the rich heritage and impressive monuments of the region. On arrival, head straight to Nijo Castle, a 17th-century structure revered for its solemn exterior and opulent interior.

After your tour, venture to the nearby Kinkaku-ji Temple to absorb the sacred ambience of the Buddhist temple; stroll through one of the world’s most exquisite Japanese gardens and gaze at the glimmering gold façade of the Golden Pavilion. Next, visit Kyoto Imperial Palace, a splendid structure that characterizes the pure and simple Japanese style. Follow your guide through the opulent chambers of the palace and hear about the extravagant emperor who used to reside here. If the Palace is closed, visit the famous shrine of Kitano instead.

Revitalize with a flavorsome and fulfilling Japanese and western-style buffet lunch (if option selected) then make your way to Nara, a city shrouded in legend and thronged with significant sites. Head first to Todai-ji Temple, an ancient 8th-century structure that houses some of Japan’s national treasures, and gaze at 3,000 antique bronze and stone lanterns.

Nijo Castle

50 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Kinkakuji Temple

45 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Kyoto Imperial Palace

40 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Todai-ji Temple

1 hour 10 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Kasuga Grand Shrine

50 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received within 48 hours of booking, subject to availability
Not wheelchair accessible
Near public transportation
Infants must sit on laps
No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
The Kyoto Imperial Palace is closed to visitors on the following days. As such, the tour will visit Kitano Tenmangu Shrine instead. If the closed day falls on the 25th, the tour will visit Nishi Hongan-ji Temple. (Mondays, Tuesday if Monday is a national holiday, and whenever there is an Imperial Household event)
Nijo Castle is closed on Tuesdays in January, July, August, and December. (Closed on the following day if Tuesday is a holiday.) If closed, Ryoan-ji Temple will be visited instead.

Participants will walk from the parking lot to Todai-ji Temple (about 15 min one-way).
At Kasuga Taisha Shrine, the tour does not include entrance to areas requiring admission.
Depending on the number of participants, JR train or a bus may be used for the trip from Osaka to Kyoto, and Kintetsu train or a bus may be used from Nara to Osaka. Please note that seating is non-reserved for the trip from Osaka to Kyoto and the trip from Nara to Osaka if using public transportation. Please note that seating is not guaranteed.
Seats may not be designated.
The order of activities and arrival times may differ depending on road conditions and congestion at destinations.
[ONLY for With Lunch option] A set menu meal will be served for lunch. For those who would like a vegetarian meal, please make sure to inform us at the time of reservation. If requests are not provided in advance, same-day changes cannot be accepted. Halal, gluten-free, and other meal requests are not available.
This tour promotes Environment(Eco)-friendly efforts as stated under Sunrise Tours' Sustainable Development Goals. We advocate for responsible travel, and urge one and all to become responsible travelers.
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 40 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.

Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.

Traveler Photos

Reviews

4.0

174 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

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Showing 1-10 of 174 reviews

Great trip

MAURICE_G, Apr 2024

Great trip and friendly guides, especially Momo. Lots covered in one day so great for an intro / overview of Kyoto which was excellent as I only had one day. It’s about one hour per stop which is required to fit everything in - if you need more time then it might be worth selecting another tour but for me this was great. Thank you!

Pros and Cons

Tia_M, Aug 2019

Overall a good experience, the sights were beautiful and the guide to and from Osaka was wonderful! She gave me insights on the areas between Kyoto Nara and Osaka and even some tidbits on the history and culture. The guides at the sites really didn't give more information than was on the signs, but with no time to read any of them. I wish I could rate them separately and there was more time at each site.

Great quick tour

Sharlene_M, Jun 2019

Great overview of famous historical sites. KC tour guide was fantastic. He did awesome job keeping group moving and showing us around. Good if only have short time in Japan

Wonderful Tour

Ivan T, May 2019

Tour was informational, only slight drawback was too much traveling in the time allotted. The guides, organization was terrific so personal and informative.

Overprices, Rushed

Aftab_M, Apr 2019

This has to be one of the fastest tours to be part of- great if you want to see many things in a short time but it's SO expensive for what it is. There's no reason for it to cost so much more than the others on offer. For starters you have to literally take a public train with everybody else, which you could've booked yourself rather than pay them a premium to do so. There is basically no chance of a seat and you are standing the whole time. You get around 45min per attraction, no water provided considering it is a whole day trip and because the groups are so large, if anybody is running late you get pushed along even faster through the rest of it. The people running it are nice- apart from that you can basically organise this yourself and do it cheaper/at your own leisure. Lunch is pretty awful too. This is far too overpriced a tour.

Trip dec 14tg

ASHLEY_E, Dec 2018

Excelent guide very helpful and informative Lunch was greatSights worth seeingNeed more time to really explore

Good & pleasant tour

Nor Azlin Z, Dec 2018

Good & friendly tour guides looking after. Convenient way of touring as everything is taken care of including transportation n tickets to enter the tour places. You don't have to worry of anything 👍👍👍

nothing to fault, excellent tour by the...

Felix C, Aug 2018

nothing to fault, excellent tour by the tour company from memory

Very professional and knowledgable...

quoc_T, Jun 2018

Very professional and knowledgable staff. I highly recommend for family whom visits Japan for the first time. Hatchi is tour staff with full knowledge about the places and history of Japan. She made people so excited during the trip. We laughed all the time with her stories. Two thumbs up.

Covered all the points mentioned in...

John P, Mar 2018

Covered all the points mentioned in the tour. The different guides were all informative and cheerful and with a sense of humour. This is a good tour, for us it was rather long and a little tiring, but when you have only a day to discover Kyoto and Nara. it was worthwhile.

I have always loved Kyoto and Nara...

MaMargarita S, Dec 2017

I have always loved Kyoto and Nara! This tour is really something that I will take over and over again everytime I travel to Osaka.

Amazing trip and well worth the money...

CheeSeng_W, Dec 2017

Amazing trip and well worth the money paid. We enjoyed it very much. Tq

We totally enjoyed this tour. Tour...

enosiglia, Nov 2017

We totally enjoyed this tour. Tour scorts were very professional, knowledgeable and very helpful. Highly recommended

Probably not ideal for those with...

rochellecsantiago, Nov 2017

Probably not ideal for those with older people. The tour guide in Nara didnt wait. By the time we catch up, she’s finished explaining. The group was 45. There were 3 buses that day, and the lunch was in only 1 restaurant that couldnt accommodate everyone so some had to wait.

We really enjoyed our tour...

Richard C, Oct 2017

We really enjoyed our tour. Collection arrangements at the Granvia hotel were smooth. Coach was comfortable and the toilet stop en route to Kyoto was welcomed by some. The staff en route were fine and our guide, when we collected her, was very pleasant, knowledgeable and spoke good English. The World Heritage sights we visited were all amazing and there is no way we could have fitted them in a day on our own . Lunch, having been described in the booking literature as 'Japanese', was a rather unexciting buffet that seemed to be based on fried chicken. That was the only real disappointment of the day. A simple bento box would have been much better. The afternoon visit to Nara Park and the giant Buddha was good, though it transpired that this was the busy time of year for Japanese school trips and the place was packed. We were staying in Osaka and the journey back there, accompanied by our guide, by train was smooth. A long day, thoroughly enjoyable and I would not hesitate to recommend it to others.

As an independent traveler I have...

Andrew B, Sep 2017

As an independent traveler I have enjoyed taking many tours offered by or through Viator. This was such a poor experience that I would recommend people skip altogether. The coordination and logistics made no sense -- meet 6:45 am at a hotel in Osaka in order to stand for a 45 minute train ride to Kyoto in order to wait 20 minutes for a huge coach bus in order to pick up more people in Kyoto after being unable to find a Kyoto and Nara Day Tour ... from Kyoto option, in order to finally begin the first stop around 9:15 am. The group was too big 75-85 people? and the first stop - Nijo Castle in Kyoto - consisted of walking around the garden before walking through the Castle. The tour itself consisted of walking to one room, hearing one sentence explained from the tour guide, and then moving to the next room with no opportunity to ask questions or explore in more depth or detail. If your goal is to simply tell friends and family that you 'saw' the selected sights in Kyoto and Nara, and you don't have any preferences for transportation or travel i.e. you don't feel comfortable arranging your own transportation and are okay with going at a snails pace through train stations and bus terminals with a large group then you might be fine with this tour. I left the tour in disappointment and had an amazing time on my own in both Kyoto and Nara - something I would recommend to every single traveller over this tour.

The deer in Nara are very friendly...

Grado, Aug 2017

The deer in Nara are very friendly and will bow before you give them a cracker which you can buy onsite. You must be firm though or they will overtake you with their aggression. I saw several folks just throw the crackers in the air out of fear when the deer descended on them. Conversely, a firm person saying NO! Was able to get them to bow before he fed them. The Temple tour was interesting. Golden Pavilion packed with school kids.

Excellent tour, however it was very...

Judith I, Jul 2017

Excellent tour, however it was very difficult to understand the words due to the normal accent between Japanese and English. This could have been totally corrected if we had individual headsets so we could hear better. It is not ever possible for the guide to consistently hold a speaker directly in front of her/his mouth all the time. Also the constant and quick movement when a guide is talking while facing the other way with many followers makes it extremely hard to hear things. There are dozens/hundreds of people visiting the same sites. Something should be done to improve hearing, No matter how great the guide, without proper equipment it is always hard to hear. Please make this change.

Great tour and tour guides. How ever...

Pavel A, Jul 2017

Great tour and tour guides. How ever drop-off location is bad, a large group of people that stayed in Granvia hotel and had a big trouble to get back to the hotel, as the station is humongous and under ground, you will not be able to use google maps. Would be a 5star review if they provided at least some directions how to get back when we get off the subway.

The trip is a absolut must .you...

Rudolf C, Jun 2017

The trip is a absolut must .you can enjoy the magic of japanese cultur, frlom the religiouse as well from the architectual side.perfectly organised .

...