Japan Guide
Nara
Accommodation
1 Hotel Fujita 47-1 Sanjō-chō 
0742/23-8111 
www.fujita-nara.com/e/index.html A reasonably smart, surprisingly affordable business hotel right on Sanjō-dōri. The rooms are plain, but they're all comfortable and en suite. Price: ¥10000-15000
2 
Nara Hotel Nara Deer Park 0742/26-3300 www.narahotel.co.jp/English/index.html Nara's top hotel occupies a stylish, Meiji-era building, set in its own gardens within Nara-kōen. Ask for a room in the old wing for the full works – high ceilings, fireplaces, period furniture and original baths. Price: ¥20000-30000
3 Nara-ken Seishōnen Kaikan Youth Hostel 72-7 Ikenoue Handa, Hiraki-chō 0742/22-5540 
naseikan@galaxy.ocn.ne.jp You're assured a friendly welcome at the Nara Prefecture hostel, located in a residential area just behind the main Nara Youth Hostel. They also offer very reasonable bike rental (¥300 per day). There are several buses from the stations (#12, #13, #131, #140) that will drop you at the Ikuei Gakuen-mae stop, a five-minute walk from the hostel. Price: ¥2650Price: Up to ¥3000
4 Nara Youth Hostel
1716 Horen-chō 0742/22-1334 www.jyh.gr.jp/nara/index.html Large, modern hostel with dormitory rooms and good facilities, though a little soulless. Check-in is from 3pm and there's a 10pm curfew. The hostel is in northwest Nara, a ten-minute bus ride (bus #108, #109, #111, #115, #130) from either the JR or Kintetsu stations; the Shieikujō stop is in front of the hostel. Price: ¥3150
5 Ryokan Hakuhō 4-1 Kamisanjō-chō 0742/26-7891 
26-7893 This friendly little guesthouse on Sanjō-dōri offers a choice of tatami rooms with or without bath. Slightly aged, but reasonable value for the location. Price: ¥10000-15000
6 Ryokan Matsumae 28-1 Higashi-Terabyashi-chō 0742/22-3686 26-3927 Welcoming ryokan in an interesting area south of Sarusawa-ike. The spruce rooms are Japanese-style; not all are en suite. Price: ¥7000-10000
7 Ryokan Seikan-sō 29 Higashi-Kitsuji-chō & 0742/22-2670 Though it's a little out of the centre and the rooms are a bit frayed, this popular old ryokan has a lovely atmosphere and a colourful past – half of it was once a geisha house. It's in the Nara-machi area, about ten minutes' walk south of Sanjō-dōri. Price: ¥7000-10000
8 Superhotel JR Nara Ekimae 500-1 Sanjō-dōri 0742/20-9000 20-9008 Conveniently located in front of JR Nara Station. Rooms are functional and clean, if a bit small, but offer excellent value, especially the singles. Price: ¥5000-7000
9 Yougendo 13-25 Kudo 2 chome Oji-cho 0745/32-0514 www.youg
endo.com Relaxed and surprisingly inexpensive guesthouse in a stately old walled compound with gardens. Rooms and communal areas have been tastefully renovated, preserving many of the mansion's traditional features, such as hand-painted fusuma (sliding doors), and there is free bike rental and Internet access. Approximately fifteen minutes on JR from Nara station. Take a local or express train to Oji – Yougendo is a one-minute walk north of the station, down the street opposite the Seiyu shopping mall. Close to Hōryūji and other western Nara sites. Price: ¥5000-7000