Travel Information
Transportation and Conference Guide
Nara Convention Bureau
http://www.kcn.ne.jp/~info-ncb/e/index.html
Ms Keiko Nakamura n-keiko@kcn.ne.jp
Tel +81-742-26-7700, fax +81-742-22-635
Travel Agency
Prima tours
Mr. Ohnishi, ohnishi@primatours.co.jp
Tel +81-6-6261-2011
Welcome to NARA
Nara, a beautiful ancient city of World Heritage,
is located about 35 km east of Osaka and
south of Kyoto. Nara is a city of cultural
and historical importance in Japan, having
been the capital of the country in 710-784
A.D. There are numerous temples, shrines,
statues, carvings and paintings, many of
which are well-preserved and designated as
important cultural assets and national treasures.
Nara-ken New Public Hall is situated in Nara
Park, where you can also find famous historical
buildings such as Todai-ji Temple, Koufuku-ji
Temple, and Kasuga Grand Shrine. Nara park
is also famous for its thousands of tame
deer that roam freely.
- Nara Prefecture
- http://www.pref.nara.jp/index-e.html
- Nara City
- http://www.city.nara.nara.jp/english/index.htm
Climate
The weather at Nara in June is not quite stable. The temperature may go
up to 25-27 C in sunny days, but may go down to 12-15 C in rainy nights.
ACCESS TO NARA
Transportation to Nara from abroad is shown
in the following diagram. The most convenient
means of transportation is to take a direct
flight to the Kansai International Airport
(KIX). From there, the simplest route to
Nara is by the Airport Limousine Bus, which
takes approximately 85 minutes to arrive
at Nara Hotel and Nara Station (Kintetsu
and JR lines). This costs 1,800 yen one way,
per person. Buses depart from stop No.9 and
are scheduled to depart approximately once
every 60 minutes. Should there be any inquiries
regarding access to Nara, please ask at the
Information Desk at the airport on the first
floor in front of the arrivals area.
Other possibilities are to fly to Narita Airport (NRT) or Fukuoka (FUK),
and then fly to Osaka Itami Airport (ITM) or Kansai International Airport
(KIX). There are also limousine buses available from Itami Airport to Nara.
However, it should be noted that the number of domestic flights between
Narita and Osaka are limited.
Limousine bus time table
- Kansai International Airport
- http://www.kate.co.jp/pc/time_table/nara_tt.html
- Osaka (Itami) Airport
- http://www.okkbus.co.jp/eng/frame/main.html Click "NARA/TENRI" button.
From Nara Station, city bus numbers 2 or
6, or buses bound for Takabatake-cho may
be taken to bus stop, "Daibutsu-den
Kasugataisha Mae" (approximately a five-minute
ride). From there it is only a three-minute
walk to the Nara-ken New Public Hall (Shin-kokaido).
Buses run every five minutes. The basic fare
for a taxi is 590 yen per 1.5km. The cost
of a taxi from JR Nara Station, or Kintetsu
Nara Station to the Nara-ken New Public Hall
(Shin-kokaido) should be around 680 -- 800
yen.
It is recommended that participants planning
to travel in Japan purchase a Japan Rail
Pass. This pass encompasses all JR trains
including the Bullet train (Shinkansen) and
the Narita Express. Please note that this
pass must be purchased prior to arrival since
it can not be purchased in Japan. The price
for a 7-day pass is about 30,000 yen.
