Osaka & Nara in 1-Day by Private Van with Local Expert Guide
Description
Have your best and most unforgettable day trip in Japan, guided by a local specialist to tour two unique cities, ancient Nara and urban Osaka, efficiently in a comfortable air-conditioned car! You will first visit Nara, “Deer" Park, the sanctuary of super-friendly wild Japanese deer, and see the most ancient, significant and biggest temple in Japan, Todaiji Temple, with the biggest Buddha Statue in Japan. After visiting ancient Nara, you will move to the most urban area of Osaka and take a cruise by car to see the most iconic landmarks of Osaka, including Osaka Castle and Dotonbori, walk some unique streets of Osaka and eat the best Osaka local foods! This tour includes an optional "dark tour" into a ghetto area of Osaka, the "Airin Area" and one of the most historical red-light districts in the world, Tobita-Shinchi. (omittable) Your friendly and flexible local guide will explain everything about those two cities in a comfortable car! Book Now for a Perfect Day!
Tour Options
Itinerary
The sanctuary of wild deer! You will be amazed to see so many wild deer relaxing in nature, in the temples, on roads and almost everywhere, not scared of people at all. What's interesting is that this park has been a national park of Japan for 1400 years, designated by the emperor. So even though it's right next to the downtown area of Nara, nature is primeval and the atmosphere brings you to ancient periods. You'll be guided with many information about Japanese deer and also with enough safety guidance to hang out with the wild and sacred animal.
Osaka Castle has been the most iconic symbol of Osaka for more than 400 years. The truth of the samurais, the founder Shogun's story and history behind the castle counted as one of the 3 most beautiful castles of Japan. The castle around is a park loved by local Japanese people, especially on cherry blossom seasons. Don’t forget to bring your camera! *Not going inside of the castle tower because it's just a museum now
A beautiful Japanese garden composed of a few distinctive areas covered by seasonal flowers and trees, and Japanese representative mosses which shines all seasons. You'll be also guided to the traditional style buildings harmonising with the garden and learn the unique philosophy of Japanese art style, Wabi-sabi, explained from the knowledgeable guide.
American village!? But this is not for Americans but for Osakan Youngs. The atmosphere is like "Shibuya" and "Harajuku" of Tokyo got combined, so cooler! All the good nightclubs and gigs are here!
Todai-ji Temple, the biggest historical wooden architecture in the world with also the biggest Buddha statue sitting inside, is the most important Buddhist temple to Japanese people to 1400 years. You'll be explained so well about its dramatic history and all the meanings of each statue with deep insights into Buddhism and Japanese culture. You will touch the essence of Buddhism with your eyes and ears by visiting here on this tour!
"Akihabara" of Osaka, a town of electronics and animes! More concentrated than Akiba'
Dotonbori/Shinsaibashi area, is the most famous, iconic and crowded of all Osaka, known for the "running man" sign, the riverside with full of fancy neons and the longest shopping street of Japan The energy of Osaka is here
This is Osaka! The symbolic street of Osaka with unique shops and friendly (drunken) people where you can taste famous Osaka street foods. Try Takoyaki (Octopus balls) and walk the lively street with fancy billboards.
The most crowded shopping arcade in Japan where you can see "the river of people", comparative to Shibuya Crossing
This is the deepest spot in Osaka, the so-called "red-line district". You will be so surprised by the prostitutes with school-uniform costumes on, waving hands from very traditional Japanese houses. The area's history will be well explained by the guide NO PHOTOGRAPHS if you don't want to get killed by Yakuzas protecting this area!
The top 3 greatest bells of Japan, the loudest bell of Japan, 1300-year-old bronze bell located in the middle of Nara park has been rang by a monk every 8 pm, but never gets hit on target because it will sound for 3 days!
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
Nissan white minivan no.(51-15) will pick you up from your hotel, so please be outside to wait for your car by 1 pm If the car arrives earlier or later, we will notify you via e-mail so please be available to check your e-mail box If you prefer iMessage (iPhone) or WhatsApp, please contact once to the number +81 08031386328
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Wheelchair accessible
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Specialized infant seats are available
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- The itinerary gets updated flexibly by the seasons and conditions. Not all the small sites listed are guaranteed to cover
Reviews(86)
We were amazed at how many sites we saw in just 7 hours: Nara deer, a fish art museum, Osaka skyline, Osaka Castle, Dotonbori street, dinner, and more. Daiki was an informative guide, and customized the trip to what we wanted.
Daiki is an excellent tour guide! I booked a solo tour and truly appreciated the accommodations for vegan dinner option, and tailoring the tour to my preferences. The BMW Mini Convertible was comfortable and perfect for a solo tour. Daiki is very friendly, and made me feel comfortable as a woman solo traveler. Highly recommend!
We enjoyed the places that we were showed. Unfortunately, the guide continued to vape while outside the vehicle. Also, the ten hour tour ended in a little over seven hours.
Our tour with Daiki was absolutely fantastic! The cost of the tour was a deal for the level of flexibility and customization he offered us - Daiki was happy to work with me on which areas I wanted to see with my family, and how long we spent at certain places. He's also a fabulous, funny, and friendly tour guide who provided tons of interesting facts about the various spots we visited that felt way beyond the generic "tour guide" experience. I know I'm really talking this tour up, but it was truly one of my favorite experiences in Japan. Highly recommended!
We have traveled all over the world and Daiki was the best guide we have ever had. He is very knowledgeable and made sure we understood what we were seeing and its relevance to Japanese history and culture. He was also very pleasant to be with and I will highly recommend this tour.
Had a really lovely day overall. Everything was well organized, and we managed to see all the main spots without feeling rushed. Daiki was very easy to talk to and shared interesting bits about Japan along the way, which made the experience even more enjoyable. It just felt like a relaxed, well-paced day with good company. Would definitely recommend this tour
I booked this tour because I wanted someone who would be able to show us around Nara and Osaka with a pickup/dropoff from our hotel in Kyoto. We enjoyed the customizability and were able to do a lot on our trip including feeding the deer in Nara deer park (+ summit visit), taking pictures of the Osaka castle, visiting Dotonbori and Shinsekai in Osaka. The Sakura season was a great time to visit! We enjoyed sampling different types of takoyaki and kushikatsu. Our tour guide Daiki was knowledgeable about many topics (Sakura trees, landmarks/temples, modern Japanese culture). I enjoyed talking about Japanese food and I think my husband enjoyed talking to Daiki about Japanese politics and policy making. This tour is perfect for those who might find the streets of Osaka too overwhelming on their own, or those who might not want to deal with figuring out the train/bus from Kyoto. I found the tour to be very relaxing and peaceful which is what I wanted out of an Osaka/Nara trip. Thank you!
Request Somei. His English is great and he is very laid back. I took hundreds of photos and he rolled with it. He also knows the best places for food and photo spots. I highly recommend the tour with this tour guide.
Daiki is a bloody legend, very knowledgeable about his city and its hidden gems especially if you ask for a good Japanese curry as we did. He’s a good laugh, friendly, punctual and chatty Fantastic tour, the deer were amazing, Ōsaka castle stunning and Daiki being very flexible was able to cater for what we wanted
We had an absolute blast with Daike. He was punctual to picking us up, led us on a great tour with lots of good info, and was just overall fun to be with. Would definitely recommend
