(photo courtesy of benjamin.krause)

Nara, a favorite travel destination within Japan, will be celebrating its 1,300 anniversary in 2010. That's a lot of candles on a birthday cake!

Nara was in fact the capital of eigth-century Japan, and is located just outside its more famous neighbor, Kyoto. Today it's home to the largest number of buildings designated National Treasures in Japan, which includes one UNESCO World Heritage site, the Todai-ji building (photo right). 

Your first stop on a visit to Nara should be Nara Park. There you will find Daibutsu, the largest Buddha statue in Japan, which is located inside Todai-ji, the largest wooden building in the world.  The building also houses four other giant statues. 

Nearby Naramachi should also be explored during a visit to Nara. It can be reached by foot, just 10 minutes from the Kintetsu Nara station. It is a historic old town district, popular with walking tours. 

Nara is part of the Nara prefecture. In the area, a popular tourist activity are three-day world heritage tours, which explore not only Nara, but nearby Asuka (Japan's earliest historical capital city) Hōryūji, and Yoshino, a beautiful mountainous area. 

The area will surely be popular with visitors in 2010. Happy 1,300th anniversary Nara!