Nara, the first capital, and its deer

In the early centuries of the Japanese state, the capital moved with each new emperor, partly for reasons of ritual purity after a death. In 710 that changed. A new, permanent capital was laid out at Heijō-kyō, the city now called Nara, on a grid modelled on the great Chinese capital of Chang'an. For most of the eighth century it was the centre of a court that looked to Tang China for its models of government, writing, art and above all religion. Buddhism, arrived from the continent not long before, was embraced by the state, and Nara's emperors built temples on a monumental scale.

In 784 the court moved away, and a few years later it settled at Kyoto, where it stayed for more than a thousand years. Nara was left as a temple town. Many of its great religious buildings survived, and today it holds some of the oldest and largest wooden buildings in the world, along with a remarkable concentration of early Buddhist art.

The Great Buddha

The emperor Shōmu ordered the building of Tōdai-ji in the 740s, as the head of a network of state temples across the country. At its heart is the Daibutsu, the Great Buddha, a seated bronze figure about fifteen metres high, consecrated in 752. It took a substantial share of the country's bronze to cast it. The hall that houses it, the Daibutsuden, has been destroyed by fire and rebuilt more than once. The present building, from the early eighteenth century, is only about two-thirds the width of the original, and it is still one of the largest wooden buildings in the world. Walking in through the great doors and looking up at the Buddha in the half-light is one of the great moments of any visit to Japan.

Behind the Buddha, one of the wooden pillars has a hole in its base said to be the same size as the Buddha's nostril. Children, and some adults, squeeze through it for good luck.

The deer, and the shrine

Nara Park, a broad expanse of lawns and woods at the foot of the hills, is home to a large population of free-roaming sika deer, more than a thousand of them. According to legend, the god of the Kasuga shrine arrived in Nara riding a white deer, and the deer have been regarded as sacred messengers ever since. They are now protected as a national natural monument. Many of them have learned to bow, bobbing their heads to visitors holding the special deer crackers sold from stalls in the park. They can also be pushy, nibbling at maps and pockets, and occasionally butt or bite, especially in the autumn rutting season, so it is wise to hold the crackers out of reach until you are ready.

Kasuga Taisha, the shrine of the deer's god, lies in the woods at the edge of the park. Its vermilion buildings are surrounded by thousands of stone lanterns along the approach paths and hundreds of bronze lanterns hanging from the eaves, given by worshippers over the centuries. Kōfuku-ji, nearby, the family temple of the powerful Fujiwara clan, has a five-storey pagoda that is one of the symbols of the city.

Fitting Nara in

Nara is often visited as a day trip from Kyoto or Osaka, and it can be done in a day. But it repays a night. The deer park in the early morning, before the day visitors arrive, is peaceful, and the town has a more relaxed pace than its big neighbours.

G Adventures' Japan Family Journey: From Ancient to Modern Times, ten nights, is designed for families and includes Nara with Tokyo, Nagano, Matsumoto and Kyoto. The deer are a reliable success with children.

Just You's Japan Revealed, eleven nights for solo travellers, includes Nara with Tokyo, Atami, Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe, Okayama, Hiroshima and Miyajima. Explore Worldwide's Walk Japan: Kumano Kodō Trail, eleven nights, includes Nara alongside the Nakasendō and the Kumano pilgrim paths.

Nara can be the surprise of a trip: older, quieter and in some ways more moving than Kyoto, and with better company in the park.