Visit Nara

The Heijo Palace site is where the ancient capital of Nara once stood over 1,300 years ago. It is also the venue for Nara's newest festival, Otateyama Matsuri. Taking place over several evenings at the end of January and beginning of February, the festival involves stage performances, parades, and an array of other cultural spectacles. Don't miss the four colorful and brightly-lit festival floats, each modeled on one of the Four Heavenly Kings (Buddhism's guardian gods charged with keeping watch over the four cardinal directions of the world); although at 7-meters tall, they shouldn't go unnoticed.