"Please Don't Trash Nara The Way Kyoto Was": Should You Sleep in Nara Instead of Kyoto?

What locals said (excerpted from 578)

• I love Nara quiet.

  静かな奈良が好きです

  — @Mike_throws_the_ball297 likes

• A quiet Nara at night is exactly what's best about it.

  夜静かな奈良が最高なんです。

  — @松の実-h1p284 likes

• Honestly? Being Kyoto's overflow is not something we want. Nara is good because it's quiet, and we don't want it loud. Shops closing early at night is how it has always been — if you want to go out drinking at night, please go somewhere else. We don't want people making noise at night either, and there are visitors who come precisely because they like the quiet atmosphere.

  正直に言いますと、京都の受け皿なんてごめんです。 奈良は静かなところがいいのに、やかましいのは嫌です。 夜お店が閉まるのが早いのは昔から、夜に遊びたければ他所へ行ってください。 夜に騒がれるのも嫌だし、静かな雰囲気が好んで来られる方もいるのです。

  — @みのぶんた270 likes

• The media are idiots and will say whatever suits them, but surely the people of Nara don't want a repeat of what happened to Kyoto?

  マスコミはアホだから勝手なことばかり言うけど、奈良の人たちは京都の二の舞は嫌じゃないのかな。

  — @unaunaq218 likes

• The night ending early is a good thing. During covid we got a taste of how comfortable that is — I'd rather be in the hotel enjoying the evening at my own pace.

  夜が早く終わるのが良い。コロナの時に快適さを味わってしまったから、ホテル内で自分のペースで楽しみたい

  — @guitarguitar722167 likes

• Nara doesn't need a nightlife district. The sun goes down, everything falls silent, and now and then you hear a deer call. That air is Nara itself. It's people coming from the big cities who should get to feel it. (For the record, there are plenty of genuinely good izakaya around the station.)

  奈良の夜に歓楽街は必要ありません。 日が暮れて静まりかえり、時折鹿の鳴き声が響く。 この空気感こそ奈良そのものです。 都会からお越しになった方々にこそ、この空気感を味わっていただきたい。 (ちなみに、駅周辺には普通においしい居酒屋さんは多数存在しております)

  — @jiroten507025 likes

• What awful slanted reporting. They film the approach inside Nara Park and go "look how pitch dark it is!" — well, that's how it's designed. It's a natural heritage site.

  これまた酷い偏向報道やな。 奈良公園内の参道あたりを撮影して、「こんなに真っ暗！」て。いや、そこはそういう設計でしょ。自然遺産。

  — @imaten828517 likes

• They filmed in the wrong places. Konishi Sakura-dori and Higashimuki are lively even at 7pm.

  写すのところが悪い。7時でも小西さくら通りや東向きなどは賑わってます。

  — @陽平武田-e9l3 likes

• The whole tone of the reporting — the mocking, looking-down-on-us way they shot it — is deeply unpleasant. Of course the park is dark at night. The shopping streets are open.

  全体的に馬鹿にするような見下すような取材の仕方、映し方が非常に不快 公園が夜暗いのは当たり前 繁華街は営業してます。

  — @Diver19963 likes

• The area around Kofukuji and Todaiji emptying out at night once viewing hours end is exactly the same as Kinkakuji or Fushimi Inari, isn't it? Kansai TV — aren't you shooting and editing to fit the conclusion you already had?

  拝観時間が終わった夜の興福寺とか東大寺周辺に人がおらんようになるのは、金閣寺とか伏見稲荷も同じやと思いますけどね。関テレさん、自分らの結論に都合のいい取材と編集してませんか？

  — @39B3 likes

• There's real malice in not mentioning the Heijo-kyo 1300th anniversary festival at 3:57. Editing it so only Nara looks bad — that's what Osaka TV stations are really like. The reality is that Nara is a place where the high-end crowd stay; ordinary, budget-feeling accommodation like business hotels is still thin on the ground here.

  3:57 「平城遷都1300年祭」と報道しない所に悪意があるよね。 こうやって奈良だけ嫌がらせの様に編集するのが大阪のテレビ局の実態です。 奈良は高級路線の人が泊まるところで、ビジネスホテルの様な庶民感覚の宿泊施設は未だに少ないのが現状。

  — @宮廷プログラマー52 likes

• "High-end" is one word for it — isn't it more like "minor"? Prices are far higher in Kyoto.

  高級路線というかマイナー路線では？料金は京都の方が全然高いよ

  — @まんまるさん-j5s13 likes

• Hardly any locals actually live around Kintetsu Nara Station or Nara Park. There's no real shopping street or supermarket there — it's a shopping street for visitors. JR Nara Station has a decent number of residents, but it's away from the park, so you can't really call it the gateway for sightseeing. The areas people actually live in are Saidaiji, Gakuenmae, Ikoma and Takanohara on the Kintetsu line, and Oji on the JR line. There was never much residential area around Kintetsu Nara Station to begin with.

  近鉄奈良駅や奈良公園周辺に暮らしてる地元民なんてほとんどおらんし。商店街もスーパーもない観光客用の商店街だよ。 JR奈良駅はまあまあ住民が住んでるが公園から離れてるから観光の入り口とは言い難い。 奈良の生活エリアは近鉄は西大寺、学園前、生駒、高の原 JRは王寺だよ。 近鉄奈良駅周辺に地元民が住む所なんてもともとほとんどない。

  — @bf109f13 likes

• I went to Nara this July and it really was quiet and relaxing 🦌 I hope it stays this way.

  今年7月奈良行ったけど本当に静かでゆったり癒された〜🦌このまま変わらないといいなぁ

  — @うり-r4w26 likes

• Strolling around Todaiji on a quiet night is lovely too, you know.

  静かな夜の東大寺を散策するのもいいんですよねえ。

  — @あか-i4g9d4 likes

• The night ending early is one of the good things about Nara. It's the culture here. If you want to go out at night as well, go to a city like Osaka or Kyoto — they're close, so please, off you go. Come here if you want to enjoy a quiet evening.

  夜が早いのが奈良のいいとこだよ。それが奈良の文化。 夜も遊びたいなら大阪京都など都会へ行けばいい。近いんだからどうぞそちらへ 静かな夜を楽しみたい方だけ来てください

  — @make-juice664860 likes

• Dark and deserted at night — that's the Nara I love. If you want a night out, just go to Kyoto or Osaka. You can easily get back afterwards.

  夜暗くて、閑散とする奈良が好きなのさ。夜遊びしたけりゃ、京都・大阪いきゃいいじゃん。ちゃんと帰ってこられるよ。

  — @pattang822249 likes

• Let me tell you as a Nara resident: there's nowhere to go out at night. It's nothing like Kyoto or Osaka, so don't come here to party — come to learn some history and Nara's a great place.

  奈良市民から教えたるけど、夜遊びするとこ無いんやで。 京都、大阪と全然ちゃうから遊びに来ないで、歴史の勉強しに来たら、奈良は良いとこやで。

  — @2525ふじ47 likes

• I went to an onsen in Yoshino in winter and it was seriously good. The cherry blossoms must be amazing in spring.

  冬に吉野の温泉行ったけどめっちゃ良かった 春だとまた桜がすごいんだろうな

  — @Dr.K5546 likes

• Higashimuki Shopping Street↗東向商店街Kintetsu Nara Station, Nara

  The covered arcade running south from Kintetsu Nara Station; residents say it was still lively at 7pm despite the report's dark footage. The visitor-facing side, with souvenir shops and long-established stores.

• Konishi Sakura-dori Shopping Street↗奈良小西さくら通り商店街Kintetsu Nara Station, Nara

  The arcade parallel to Higashimuki, named in the same comment. This is the one that grew up serving residents rather than tourists.

• Nara Park↗奈良公園Nara

  Dark after sunset by design, locals insist — the evening is in the arcades, not the park.

• Todaiji↗東大寺Nara Park

  Strolling the grounds after viewing hours end, in the quiet, is the night activity locals actually name (4 likes).

• Kofukuji↗興福寺Nara Park

  A commenter points out that the emptiness here after closing is no different from Kinkakuji or Fushimi Inari in Kyoto.

• Kintetsu Nara Station↗近鉄奈良駅Nara

  The sightseeing gateway and where the hotels cluster — and, per a resident, an area almost no locals live in.

• JR Nara Station↗JR奈良駅Nara

  More residential per the same comment, but further from Nara Park than the Kintetsu side.

• Yoshinoyama (Yoshino)↗吉野山Yoshino, Nara Prefecture

  Deeper into Nara Prefecture: a commenter's winter onsen trip here was "seriously good", with the famous cherry blossoms still to come in spring.

Named in the source comments — hours, prices, and openings change, so check each map listing before you go.

Should you stay in Nara instead of Kyoto?

Japanese travelers increasingly do, and the comment consensus is that Nara is the calmer base — but with two caveats from residents. One (52 likes) says Nara skews to higher-end inns and is still thin on cheap business-hotel style rooms, while another replies that Kyoto is far more expensive anyway (13 likes). Locals also ask visitors to keep it quiet. Check current rates on a booking site.

Does everything in Nara really close at 6pm?

Around Nara Park, essentially yes — and residents say that is by design, not neglect. But they push back hard on the idea that the city is dead: the covered arcades by Kintetsu Nara Station, Higashimuki and Konishi Sakura-dori, were "lively even at 7pm" as of the comments, and one local notes there are plenty of good izakaya near the station.

Is there anything to do in Nara at night?

Locals name the quiet itself: walking the grounds around Todaiji after closing hours (4 likes), and the silence broken by deer calls that one resident calls "Nara itself" (25 likes). If you want bars and nightlife, several commenters say plainly to take the train to Osaka or Kyoto instead — you can get back the same evening.

Which part of Nara should you base yourself in?

A resident's answer (13 likes) is useful here: almost nobody actually lives around Kintetsu Nara Station or Nara Park — that side is built for visitors, which is exactly why it is convenient for sightseeing on foot. JR Nara Station has more residents but sits further from the park, so it's the less obvious sightseeing gateway.

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