Nara Pref. Grows as Hot Spot for Lodging as Osaka, Kyoto Become Overcrowded with Tourists

By Takayasu Kitagawa / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

11:59 JST, November 4, 2025

Nara Prefecture is attracting attention as an alternative lodging hot spot for tourists, as central parts of Osaka and Kyoto prefectures are crowded and, thus, hotel rates there have been rising sharply.

Tourists have mainly been visiting Nara Prefecture only for days trips because it is easily accessible from Osaka and Kyoto prefectures.

In recent years, though, Japanese and foreign companies have been opening many hotels and lodging facilities one after another in the prefecture. The situation is changing the flow of tourists in the Kansai region.

‘Opening rush’

Hoshino Resorts Inc. will open a new hotel, Hoshinoya Asuka, in the village of Asuka in Nara Prefecture in 2027.

The hotel grounds are designed to better utilize the scenery of the Asuka area, including a garden space that inspires guests to imagine stepped rice paddies.

The company also plans to open Hoshinoya Nara Prison, a luxury hotel using a former prison building, in 2026.

“Nara Prefecture has lots of historic resources with more than 1,000 years of history, and so it has the power to attract tourists from all over the world,” said company President Yoshiharu Hoshino.

Japanese and foreign hotel chains have been opening many lodging facilities in the prefecture, and the situation can be described as a hotel “opening rush.”

In the city of Nara, Accor Group of France opened Novotel Nara in September 2024. Central Japan Railway Co. (JR Tokai) is scheduled to open Hotel Nei Nara in fiscal 2030.

Shift from day trips

Nara Prefecture has many tourism resources such as Nara Park and Todaiji temple. It is easy for tourists to visit the prefecture by train, and until recently, many of them went there on day trips.

According to the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry and other sources, in fiscal 2018 there were 9,400 guest rooms in lodging facilities in Nara Prefecture, the smallest number among Japan’s 47 prefectures.

The Nara prefectural government set a goal of increasing the number to 12,000 and has made various efforts to encourage more tourists to lodge in the prefecture.

As a result, the number of guest rooms in fiscal 2024 rose to about 10,400. The prefecture’s ranking rose from the bottom to 43rd.

Recently, overtourism — a term that refers to problems associated with areas overcrowded with tourists — has been increasingly serious in central parts of Osaka and Kyoto prefectures, and the situation sheds a light on Nara Prefecture.

A 45-year-old woman from Australia who lodged in a hotel in Nara City said that the area was quieter than in Kyoto and the city as a whole was beautiful.

In addition, hotel rates in Osaka surged during the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo. Visitors to the Expo who lodged in Nara Prefecture posted comments on social media such as, “It is an unknown, good place because hotel rates are reasonable,” and, “Access [to Osaka] was better than I expected.”

Improved convenience

Public transportation to Nara Prefecture has become increasingly convenient. Consequently, the prefecture’s presence as a lodging place is predicted to grow.

In March this year, West Japan Railway Co. (JR West) began regular train services of the Mahoroba limited express that runs from Osaka and Shin-Osaka stations without the need to transfer.

In the future, a station on the maglev Linear Shinkansen line will open in Nara Prefecture, making it easier for people in the Tokyo and Chukyo metropolitan areas to visit the prefecture.

The Nara prefectural government’s section for building attractiveness as a tourist destination has continued to promote the prefecture as a good lodging site. “We feel a sense of success that the number of overnight visitors has increased,” said an official in the section. “Because the Expo was held, it prompted more people at home and from abroad to learn about the appeal of Nara Prefecture.”

It will be necessary to boost the prefecture’s attractiveness as a lodging area by, for example, enhancing its nightlife.

“The key is finding a way to establish places where tourists can enjoy the food culture and experiences particular to Nara Prefecture,” said Takao Okuyama, an associate director of CBRE K.K., a real estate service company, and an expert of the hotel industry.