Seven Days of Exploring Nara
I've Summarized Nine Must-Visit Destinations. ๐๐ข Here's my take on the "Travel Impossibility Triangle": few people, beautiful scenery, and convenient transportation. If a place has few people and beautiful scenery, it's usually remote and hard to reach, or it requires booking far in advanceโanother kind of inconvenience. ๐๐ธ If it has beautiful scenery and convenient transportation, it's bound to be crowded. And if a place is easy to get to and not crowded, there's probably not much to see. ๐๐ข So it's impossible to satisfy all three conditions at the same time; you have to make a choice. ๐๐ธMy personal preference is to choose places with few people and beautiful scenery, and I'll deal with the inconvenience of transportation myselfโmainly by trading time for space, which means spending a few more days exploring. ๐๐ข I spent a whole seven days in Nara, walking 30,000 steps every day. Actually, if I were rushing, I could see these spots in just four days, but I wanted to take my time and enjoy the scenery along the way. ๐๐ธ Most tourists in Nara stick to the area around Nara Park and Todai-ji Temple (that's where most of the deer are), but Nara is a much larger region. Nara Prefecture includes several cities like Ikoma, Tenri, Sakurai, and Kasugai (similar to our districts or counties). ๐๐ข Just wandering around Nara is very pleasant. You might stumble upon a charming little park here, or spot some unique flowers there. The key is that there's no overcrowding, no tourist congestion, and no tour busesโfew people and beautiful scenery. ๐๐ธ Here are the nine must-visit cherry blossom spots in Nara that I recommend (based on the criteria of few people and beautiful scenery, so places like Nara Park and Todai-ji Temple are not included). The ranking is based on priority, with higher-ranked spots being more recommended. ๐๐ข These are purely based on my personal aesthetic experience. Due to limited space, I'll only list nine, but there are actually many more interesting spots worth visiting. ๐๐ธ I've shared detailed guides on Xiaohongshu before, see the numbered notes for details. Mount Yoshino ๐ธ ๐๐ข Yobue Cherry Blossoms ๐ธ Tenri City's Great Weeping Cherry ๐ธ Hasedera Temple ๐ธ ๐๐ธSakurai River ๐ธ Honsen-ji Temple ๐ธ Yobue Park ๐ธ Mount Yoshino's Okuchien (listed separately because it requires a steep climb, and as explained in Note 113, 80% of the cherry blossoms in Okuchien were cut down due to cherry blossom blight, so its priority is lower. ๐๐ธ However, the poetic sight of new cherry blossoms growing from dead tree stumps is worth seeing if you have the time and inclination) ๐ธ Abe Manju-in Temple ๐ธ Honorable Mention: Tsubaki-ji Temple ๐๐ธ If we only consider the scenery, it could definitely make the top nine. However, first of all, the transportation to this place is extremely inconvenient. Without a private car, you can basically only visit this one spot in a day. Secondly, for some reason I don't quite understand, it has become a super popular spot , so it's crowded with people trying to "check in," making it hard to find a good angle for photos. ๐๐ธ Since it doesn't even meet two of the conditions of the "Travel Impossibility Triangle," it's naturally not recommended. #TravelDiaryOfLittlePanda ๐ฟ #SpringExchange ๐ธ