This page contains promotions (affiliate links) (Editorial & ad policy)
Hotels near Nara Station: 5 picked from 164
Approximate, at the rate on 2026-10-02. You pay in yen.
- Hotels near Nara Station: five, from about ¥20,000 per person with breakfast
- Kasuga Hotel is two minutes from Kintetsu Nara; Asukasou is eight minutes away and scores 4.79
- Nara Hotel opened in 1909; SETRE Naramachi is built around its restaurant; Yoshidaya looks over Sarusawa Pond
The five
| Best for | Where to book | Score | Weeknight (per person) | Saturday |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eight minutes from Kintetsu Nara, a ryotei inn rated 4.79 — if you can’t decide | Koto Nara no Yado Asukasou Check price |
91/100 | ¥20,000–27,000 | ¥23,000–52,000 |
| Founded in 1909, about 15 minutes on foot from Kintetsu Nara | Nara Hotel Check price |
82/100 | ¥24,000–42,000 | ¥31,000–128,000 |
| Two minutes from Kintetsu Nara, with a garden open-air bath | Kasuga Hotel Check price |
81/100 | ¥23,000–35,000 | ¥23,000–37,000 |
| Eight minutes from Kintetsu Nara, 32 rooms built around the restaurant | SETRE Naramachi Check price |
70/100 | ¥22,000–46,000 | ¥36,000–49,000 |
| Eight minutes from Kintetsu Nara, a ryokan looking onto Sarusawa Pond | Sarusawa-ike Yoshidaya Check price |
69/100 | — | ¥24,000 |
Prices are the cheapest per person found on Rakuten Travel for Wednesdays and Saturdays between 2026-11-11 – 2027-01-02, for 2 adults in one room (checked 2026-11-03). They move daily — the link shows live prices.
The booking links go to Agoda, which shows today’s price and lets you pay in your own currency. Its price can differ from the Rakuten Travel figures above.
Eight minutes from Kintetsu Nara, a ryotei inn rated 4.79
Reviews: Rakuten Travel 4.79/5 (560) · Agoda 9.2/10 (532) · 1,092 in total
- A ryotei (traditional restaurant) inn serving kaiseki; the open-air bath and rooms look onto the Kofuku-ji pagoda
- Service scores 4.83 and dinner 4.86 on Rakuten
- Dinner starts between 18:00 and 19:00; free parking, and paid EV charging
Why it made the five
- About eight minutes on foot from exit 2 of Kintetsu Nara; Nara Park is five minutes away.
- A large bath and an open-air bath, with a view of the Kofuku-ji pagoda.
- 4.79 on Rakuten across 560 reviews.
- 30 rooms.
Getting there: About eight minutes on foot from exit 2 of Kintetsu Nara station; 18 minutes on foot or six by taxi from JR Nara; Nara Park is five minutes on foot.
Language and payment: Rakuten does not publish a language level for this inn, so ask when booking. Cards listed: VISA, JCB, American Express, Diners Club, Master, debit cards, among others. A yukata change is offered.
-
Right for: Kaiseki dinner and ryokan hospitality close to Nara Park.
-
Not for: A late arrival: the last check-in is 19:00, and the station is eight minutes away on foot.
-
Worth knowing: The last check-in is 19:00. The Kofuku-ji pagoda has been under a construction scaffold since July 2023 (Rakuten).
Score breakdown — 91/100
| Criterion | Stars | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Quality | ★★★★☆ | Room, bath and dinner average 4.65 on Rakuten Travel |
| Value for money | ★★★★☆ | ¥20,000–27,000 per person on a weeknight (Rakuten, breakfast) — 87% of the median of everything we compared |
| Easy to stay | ★★★★★ | Eight minutes from exit 2 of Kintetsu Nara and five from Nara Park; large and open-air baths; 30 rooms with free parking; service scores 4.83. |
| Trust | ★★★★★ | 4.79 across 560 reviews (Rakuten Travel 560) |
| Only here | ★★★★★ | A ryotei inn five minutes from Nara Park, with the highest review average here (4.79), and the Kofuku-ji pagoda in view from the rooms and the open-air bath. |
Founded in 1909, about 15 minutes on foot from Kintetsu Nara
Reviews: Rakuten Travel 4.69/5 (1,746) · Agoda 8.9/10 (971) · 2,717 in total
- Rakuten calls it the state guesthouse of the Kansai, opened in 1909
- A tea lounge and a bar
- Breakfast scores 4.80 and service 4.73 on Rakuten
Why it made the five
- About 15 minutes on foot from the east gate B exit of Kintetsu Nara, or five by taxi.
- A city bus (platform 3, Tenri direction) takes about seven minutes.
- 4.69 on Rakuten across 1,746 reviews, the most of the six.
- 114 rooms; 100 free parking spaces.
Getting there: About 15 minutes on foot from the east gate B exit of Kintetsu Nara station, five by taxi, or about seven by city bus from platform 3 (Tenri direction).
Language and payment: Rakuten says a few staff manage everyday English. Cards listed: VISA, JCB, American Express, Diners Club, Master, Rakuten Card, among others. The last check-in is 23:00.
- Right for: Staying in the atmosphere of a historic hotel, unhurried.
- Not for: A short walk to the station or a large bath: it is about 15 minutes away on foot and has no large bath.
Score breakdown — 82/100
| Criterion | Stars | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Quality | ★★★★☆ | Room, bath and dinner average 4.66 on Rakuten Travel |
| Value for money | ★★★☆☆ | ¥24,000–42,000 per person on a weeknight (Rakuten, breakfast) — 103% of the median of everything we compared |
| Easy to stay | ★★★★★ | Check-out 11:00; about 15 minutes from Kintetsu Nara (five by taxi); 114 rooms with 100 free parking spaces; last check-in 23:00; breakfast scores 4.80. |
| Trust | ★★★★☆ | 4.69 across 1,746 reviews (Rakuten Travel 1,746) |
| Only here | ★★★★★ | Founded in 1909 and billed by Rakuten as the state guesthouse of the Kansai, with the most reviews of the six (1,746). |
Two minutes from Kintetsu Nara, with a garden open-air bath
Reviews: Rakuten Travel 4.70/5 (154) · Agoda 8.7/10 (125) · 279 in total
- Rakuten places it at the gateway to Nara Park
- Kaiseki built on Nara’s local cooking, and a garden open-air bath
- Location scores 4.70 and the bath 4.62 on Rakuten
Why it made the five
- About two minutes on foot from exit 2 or 3 of Kintetsu Nara.
- A large bath and a garden open-air bath.
- 4.70 on Rakuten across 154 reviews.
- 30 rooms; 15 free parking spaces, first come, first served.
Getting there: About two minutes on foot from exit 2 or 3 of Kintetsu Nara station.
Language and payment: Rakuten does not publish a language level for this inn, so ask when booking. Cards listed: VISA, JCB, American Express, Diners Club, Master, among others. The last check-in is 19:00.
-
Right for: Being a few steps from the station and still getting a ryokan bath and dinner.
-
Not for: A late arrival; the last check-in is 19:00.
-
Worth knowing: The last check-in is 19:00. The large bath and open-air bath are communal, so ask the inn about tattoos before booking.
Score breakdown — 81/100
| Criterion | Stars | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Quality | ★★★★☆ | Room, bath and dinner average 4.67 on Rakuten Travel |
| Value for money | ★★★☆☆ | ¥23,000–35,000 per person on a weeknight (Rakuten, breakfast) — 100% of the median of everything we compared |
| Easy to stay | ★★★★★ | Two minutes from exit 2 or 3 of Kintetsu Nara; large bath and open-air bath; 30 rooms with 15 free parking spaces; last check-in 19:00. |
| Trust | ★★★★☆ | 4.7 across 154 reviews (Rakuten Travel 154) |
| Only here | ★★★★☆ | Two minutes from Kintetsu Nara at the gateway to Nara Park, with a garden open-air bath. |
Eight minutes from Kintetsu Nara, 32 rooms built around the restaurant
Reviews: Rakuten Travel 4.40/5 (455) · Agoda 9.1/10 (243) · 698 in total
- Rakuten bills it as an auberge and hotel restaurant celebrating Nara’s ingredients and history
- Breakfast and dinner are both in the restaurant; allergies and religious restrictions are accommodated
- No disposable amenities such as toothbrushes; bring your own
Why it made the five
- About eight minutes on foot from Kintetsu Nara and 15 from JR Nara.
- A restaurant and a lounge, with breakfast and dinner in the restaurant.
- 4.40 on Rakuten across 455 reviews; the bath scores 4.08.
- 32 rooms; no car park.
Getting there: Eight minutes on foot from Kintetsu Nara station and 15 from JR Nara station.
Language and payment: Rakuten says a few staff understand a little English. Cards listed: VISA, JCB, American Express, Master. Allergies and religious or other dietary restrictions are accommodated by changing ingredients. The last check-in is 23:30.
-
Right for: Coming to Nara for the food and staying in a small hotel.
-
Not for: A large bath or top review scores: there is no large bath, the bath scores 4.08 and the overall average is 4.40.
-
Worth knowing: No disposable amenities such as toothbrushes are provided, out of environmental concern (Rakuten).
Score breakdown — 70/100
| Criterion | Stars | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Quality | ★☆☆☆☆ | Room, bath and dinner average 4.30 on Rakuten Travel |
| Value for money | ★★★★☆ | ¥22,000–46,000 per person on a weeknight (Rakuten, breakfast) — 93% of the median of everything we compared |
| Easy to stay | ★★★★★ | Check-out 11:00; eight minutes from Kintetsu Nara and 15 from JR Nara; breakfast and dinner in the restaurant; 32 rooms and no car park; dietary changes accommodated. |
| Trust | ★★★☆☆ | 4.4 across 455 reviews (Rakuten Travel 455) |
| Only here | ★★★★☆ | An auberge-style hotel for Nara’s ingredients and food culture, with just 32 rooms. |
Eight minutes from Kintetsu Nara, a ryokan looking onto Sarusawa Pond
Reviews: Rakuten Travel 4.46/5 (519) · Agoda 8.9/10 (114) · 633 in total
- Kofuku-ji is a minute away on foot, and the inn looks over Sarusawa Pond at sunset
- Breakfast includes rice cooked in a kamado (traditional clay stove)
- A large bath and a family bath; the last check-in is 21:00
Why it made the five
- About eight minutes on foot from Kintetsu Nara and 15 from JR Nara.
- Kofuku-ji is one minute away on foot.
- 4.46 on Rakuten across 519 reviews; rooms score 4.27.
- 26 rooms, with barrier-free rooms.
Getting there: About eight minutes on foot from Kintetsu Nara station and 15 from JR Nara station; Kofuku-ji is one minute on foot.
Language and payment: Rakuten does not publish a language level for this inn, so ask when booking. Cards listed: VISA, JCB, American Express, Diners Club, Master, Discover, among others. The last check-in is 21:00.
-
Right for: Waking up beside Kofuku-ji and Sarusawa Pond and having a ryokan breakfast.
-
Not for: Top-scoring rooms: they score 4.27, the lowest of the six. Free parking also ends on 24 January.
-
Worth knowing: Free parking runs only until 24 January; from 25 January use a coin car park nearby (Rakuten).
Score breakdown — 69/100
| Criterion | Stars | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Quality | ★★☆☆☆ | Room, bath and dinner average 4.37 on Rakuten Travel |
| Value for money | ★★★☆☆ | No weeknight room was free in our search window (Rakuten, breakfast) — 105% of the median of everything we compared |
| Easy to stay | ★★★★★ | Eight minutes from Kintetsu Nara and 15 from JR Nara; large bath and family bath; Kofuku-ji one minute away; 26 rooms with barrier-free rooms. |
| Trust | ★★★☆☆ | 4.46 across 519 reviews (Rakuten Travel 519) |
| Only here | ★★★★☆ | A ryokan facing Sarusawa Pond at sunset, where breakfast comes with kamado-cooked rice. |
Know before you book
- Nara Park, Todai-ji, Kasuga Taisha and the old merchant quarter of Naramachi sit east and south of Kintetsu Nara station. A hotel here puts most of the sights on foot.
- Kintetsu Nara and JR Nara are separate stations. Every hotel here is closer to Kintetsu Nara; SETRE Naramachi and Yoshidaya list 15 minutes on foot from JR Nara, and Asukasou 18.
- Kintetsu Nara has direct trains to Osaka-Namba and Kyoto; JR Nara is the stop for the JR lines.
- The five-storied pagoda of Kofuku-ji has been under a construction scaffold since July 2023, according to Rakuten. Rooms and baths that face it may show the scaffold rather than the pagoda.
- Asukasou and Kasuga Hotel take their last check-in at 19:00, and dinner at Asukasou starts between 18:00 and 19:00. Plan to arrive in the afternoon.
- Prices here are per person with breakfast, for two sharing. The lowest weekday rate among the five is about ¥20,000, at Asukasou.
How we chose: theme, conditions, scoring
How we chose
- Candidates: every property in Nara listed on Rakuten Travel — 164
- Passed the review filter (counts and averages on Rakuten Travel, the one site that lists every property in the area): 54
- Met every condition below: 14
- Kept: five, each the best at something different
Where the facts come from
- Facts: Rakuten Travel property information (in some articles, each hotel’s own site too)
- Prices: Rakuten Travel live availability, Wednesdays and Saturdays over eight weeks
- Reviews: the count and average on Rakuten Travel, as given in each hotel’s Trust row. Agoda’s reviews are shown under each hotel name for reference only and do not count towards the score
Conditions (all of them, not most of them)
- In Rakuten Travel’s Nara City listing
- At least 50 reviews on Rakuten Travel, averaging 4.0 or better
- The cheapest rate falls between ¥8,000 and ¥30,000 per person per night
- Within walking distance of Kintetsu Nara or JR Nara station (the access line names the station and says ‘on foot’)
Scoring
Five criteria, one to five stars each, weighted to one hundred points. Every star says where the number came from.
- Quality20 pts
- The average of the scores Rakuten Travel publishes for the room, the bath and the food.
- Value for money25 pts
- The cheapest breakfast-inclusive rate against the median of the hotels we compared.
- Easy to stay30 pts
- Minutes from the station, a bath house, and check-out time.
- Trust20 pts
- Review counts and averages published by Rakuten Travel.
- Only here5 pts
- What this hotel has that the other 13 do not.
What we dropped
| Property | Verdict | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Hotel Tenpyo Naramachi | Runner-up (68/100) | Scored 68 against 69 for the fifth pick. No rooms came up in our search window, so the price could not be checked and value took the default three stars, and quality earned 2 stars from Rakuten’s average of 4.42. |
| Hotel New Wakasa | Could not be checked | 4.61 across 693 reviews, with a large bath. The access line names Kintetsu Nara but does not say ‘on foot’, so the automatic check could not confirm the station condition. |
| Ryokan Kosen | Passed over | 4.50 across 63 reviews, seven minutes on foot from Kintetsu Nara, with a large bath. Few reviews, and little to set it apart from the others in the area. |
| JW Marriott Hotel Nara | Outside the theme | 4.21 across 135 reviews, but the nearest station is Kintetsu Shin-Omiya, so it is not a walk from Kintetsu Nara or JR Nara. |
| 110 hotels | Below the floor | Fewer than 50 reviews, or an average below 4.0. |
Questions visitors ask
Which of these is closest to Kintetsu Nara station?
Kasuga Hotel, about two minutes on foot from exit 2 or 3. Hotel Tenpyo Naramachi, which scored just below the five, is seven minutes away; Asukasou, SETRE Naramachi and Yoshidaya are each about eight minutes.
Which have a large bath?
Asukasou has a large bath and an open-air bath, Kasuga Hotel a large bath and a garden open-air bath, and Yoshidaya a large bath and a family bath. Hotel Tenpyo Naramachi, just below the five, has a large bath too. Nara Hotel and SETRE Naramachi have none. Communal baths are shared, so ask each inn about tattoos first.
Which are walkable from JR Nara?
None is really close to JR Nara: SETRE Naramachi and Yoshidaya list 15 minutes on foot, and Asukasou 18 minutes on foot or six by taxi. All of them are closer to Kintetsu Nara.
How much do these cost?
The table shows the cheapest price per person with breakfast, for two sharing, from Rakuten Travel’s availability search for Wednesdays and Saturdays between 11 November 2026 and 2 January 2027. Weekday lows run from about ¥20,000 at Asukasou to about ¥24,000 at Nara Hotel. Yoshidaya showed no weekday rooms in our window, only a Saturday rate of about ¥24,000. Saturdays reach much higher at Asukasou and Nara Hotel.
What if I arrive late?
Asukasou and Kasuga Hotel take their last check-in at 19:00, and Yoshidaya at 21:00. Nara Hotel’s is 23:00 and SETRE Naramachi’s 23:30. If you arrive later than listed, tell the hotel ahead of time.
Which one would you book?
Asukasou: it scored 91, the highest of the five, has 4.79 across 560 reviews and a weekday low of about ¥20,000 per person. If you want the shortest walk from the station, Kasuga Hotel is two minutes from Kintetsu Nara and has a garden open-air bath.
Changes
- 2026-11-03 First published. Scored from 164 candidates.