Nara was Japan's first permanent capital was established in the year 710 at Heijo, the city now known as Nara. As the influence and political ambitions of the city's powerful Buddhist monasteries grew to become a serious threat to the government, the capital was moved to Nagaoka in 784. Nara is located in the Kinai plain, less than one hour from Kyoto and Osaka. Due to its past as the first permanent capital, it remains full of historic treasures, including some of Japan's oldest Buddhist temples.

Todaiji Temple (Great Eastern Temple) is one of Japan's most famous and historically significant temples and a landmark of Nara. Todaiji was constructed in 752 as the head temple of all provincial Buddhist temples of Japan and grew so powerful that the capital was moved from Nara to Nagaoka in 784 in order to lower its influence on government affairs. Not only is Todaiji housing Japan's largest Buddha statue (Daibutsu), but it is also the world's largest wooden building, even though the present reconstruction of 1692 is only two thirds of the original temple's size.

Kasuga Taisha Shrine is Nara's most celebrated shrine. It was established at the same time as the capital and dedicated to the deity responsible for the protection of the city. Kasuga Taisha was also the tutelary shrine of the Fujiwara, Japan's most powerful family clan of most of the Nara and Heian Periods. Like the Ise Shrines, Kasuga Shrine had been periodically torn down and rebuilt every 20 years for many centuries. In case of the Kasuga Shrine, however, that Shinto custom was discontinued at the end of the Edo Period. Kasuga Taisha is famous for its many lanterns, which were donated by worshippers. The many bronze lanterns within the shrine and the hundreds of stone lanterns lining the shrine's approach are lit on the occasion of the Lantern Festivals in February and August.

Nara Park (Nara Koen) is a large, pleasant park in central Nara, established in 1880. It is the location of many of Nara's main attractions including Todaiji, Kasuga Taisha, Kofukuji and the Nara National Museum, a museum specialized in Buddhist art. The park is home to hundreds of freely roaming deer. Considered messengers of the gods in Shinto, Nara's deer have become a symbol of the city and have even been designated a National Treasure.