In short
Nara was the capital of Japan from 710 to 784, before Kyoto. Eight of its monuments are World Heritage sites, including Tōdai-ji, until recently the largest wooden building in the world, which houses a fifteen-metre bronze Buddha.
About a thousand sika deer roam free in the park, regarded as messengers of the gods and protected for centuries.
What it really costs
Nara is forty minutes from Kyoto and an hour from Osaka. Many people make it a day trip, which avoids staying — and accommodation here is scarcer and dearer than in Kyoto.
The major temples each have their own modest ticket. The park and the deer are free.
What nobody tells you
The deer are wild, not tame. They bite, butt and chase people holding biscuits. Reported injuries run into the hundreds each year.
The biscuits sold on site are the only ones permitted. Giving them anything else harms them and is forbidden.
The town empties in the late afternoon when visitors head back to Kyoto. Sleeping here gives you Tōdai-ji at daybreak, almost deserted.