(Isui-en garden View from), Todaiji Temple, Nara ..Todaiji Temple Nandaimon.., Kinki, Japan

UIG via Getty Images

Isui-en & Neiraku Art Museum

Nara


Isui-en is an elegant garden in two parts: one created in the 17th century, in the style of an Edo-period (1603–1868) strolling garden, and another added in the early 20th century. Both make fantastic use of the technique of shakkei (borrowed scenery), incorporating the mountains behind Kasuga Taisha into the design. For ¥850 you can have matcha (powdered green tea) and a Japanese sweet in the teahouse. Admission covers the adjoining Neiraku Art Museum, displaying Chinese and Korean ceramics and bronzes.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Nara attractions

1. Yoshiki-en

0.06 MILES

This garden was once part of Kofuku-ji and since 1919 has been a public garden, laid out in traditional fashion along paths around a pond. Most attractive…

2. Tōdai-ji Nandai-mon

0.1 MILES

The great south gate of Tōdai-ji contains two fierce-looking Niō (guardians). These recently restored wooden images, carved in the 13th century by famed…

3. Tōdai-ji Museum

0.11 MILES

The most recent building on the grounds of Tōdai-ji is the contemporary museum built to display more of the temple's important artwork and relics.

4. Nara National Museum

0.15 MILES

This world-class museum of Buddhist art is divided into two sections. Built in 1894 and strikingly renovated in 2016, the Nara Buddhist Sculpture Hall &…

5. Tōdai-ji

0.21 MILES

Nara's star attraction is its Daibutsu (Great Buddha), one of the largest bronze statues in the world. It was unveiled in 752, upon the completion of the…

6. Kōfuku-ji National Treasure Museum

0.35 MILES

Reopened in 2018, this compact museum houses Kōfuku-ji's most important works of art, many of which date to the 8th century (and have managed to survive…

7. Kōfuku-ji Tōkondō

0.38 MILES

Kōfuku-ji's Tōkondō is a National Treasure dating from 726 and rebuilt in 1415 (but paying homage to older structures). It houses several important…

  • placement: superzone
  • path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [1, 1],
  • targeting:
    {
      "url": "japan/kansai/nara/attractions/isui-en-neiraku-art-museum/a/poi-sig/1231559/356700",
      "destination": "Nara",
      "continent": "Asia",
      "country": "Japan",
      "city": "Nara",
      "position": "superzone"
    }