🏯 Imagine waking up on the grounds where monks once walked to one of the world's largest wooden buildings — the Great Buddha Hall of Todai-ji Temple.
That dream is becoming reality. Nara's 1,300-year-old Todai-ji Temple has partnered with Kintetsu Miyako Hotels to build a 25-room luxury retreat right on its former grounds. Opening in fall 2028, this is one of the most ambitious fusions of ancient sacred space and modern hospitality Japan has ever seen.
A Hotel Where History Lives Beneath Your Feet
On February 4, 2026, Todai-ji Temple and Kintetsu Miyako Hotels jointly announced a plan to construct a new luxury accommodation on a section of the officially designated historic site known as the "Former Todai-ji Grounds" (Todai-ji Kyū Keidai). The site is located at Suimon-chō in Nara City, adjacent to the famous Nara Park where wild deer freely roam.
What makes this project extraordinary is its location. The building site sits where the Saidaimon (Western Great Gate) of Todai-ji once stood — a massive ceremonial gate that formed part of the temple's original 8th-century layout during the Nara Period. While the gate itself was lost to history centuries ago, the land retains its designation as a protected historic site, meaning every aspect of construction must be carefully planned to preserve what lies beneath and around it.
The facility will occupy approximately 12,000 square meters (about 129,000 sq ft) of land owned by Todai-ji. Kintetsu Miyako Hotels will handle both construction and operation. The total floor space will be around 3,500 square meters (roughly 37,700 sq ft), with construction scheduled to begin in January 2027 and the opening targeted for fall 2028.
Design Philosophy: Low, Scattered, and Respectful
Rather than building a single large hotel structure, the architects have chosen to scatter multiple low-rise buildings across the site. This approach, known in Japanese architectural tradition as bunsan haichi (distributed layout), serves multiple purposes.
First, it respects the cultural landscape. Tall buildings would visually clash with the surrounding temple architecture and the natural beauty of Nara Park. By keeping structures low and distributed, the hotel becomes part of the landscape rather than dominating it.
Second, the design takes advantage of the site's natural terrain and elevation changes. A Japanese-style garden will serve as the central feature, with guest buildings arranged around it to frame the views. This creates an experience where guests feel immersed in nature and history simultaneously — a concept the Japanese call shakkei (borrowed scenery), where the surrounding landscape becomes part of the designed space.
The project will include approximately 25 guest rooms, a restaurant featuring local Nara ingredients, and a tea ceremony room (chashitsu). The tea room is particularly significant — the practice of sadō (tea ceremony) has deep roots in Nara's cultural history, and offering this experience within the temple grounds adds an authentic layer that no ordinary hotel can replicate.
Kintetsu Miyako Hotels: 130 Years of Heritage
The hotel operator, Kintetsu Miyako Hotels, is no newcomer to blending history with hospitality. The company traces its roots back to 1890, when it opened a garden resort called Yoshimizu-en — today known as the Westin Miyako Kyoto. With over 130 years of history, the Miyako Hotels & Resorts brand operates 24 properties across Japan and internationally, with a brand philosophy centered on warmth, refined attention to detail, and cultivated elegance.
This Todai-ji property will be the company's third accommodation in Nara City, joining the traditional ryokan-style Nara Manyo Wakakusa no Yado Mikasa on the slopes of Mount Wakakusa, and the exclusive kaiseki dining inn Nara Kasuga Okuyama Tsukihi-tei nestled in the forest behind Kasuga Grand Shrine. Each of these properties offers a distinct experience rooted in Nara's history, and the new Todai-ji retreat will add yet another dimension.
Nara's Luxury Hotel Renaissance
This announcement comes at a pivotal moment for Nara's hospitality landscape. The ancient capital has long been overshadowed by neighboring Kyoto in the luxury accommodation segment, with many tourists visiting Nara as a day trip from Osaka or Kyoto rather than staying overnight.
That narrative is rapidly changing. In June 2025, Hoshino Resorts is opening Hoshinoya Nara Prison, a stunning conversion of the Former Nara Prison — a Meiji-era (1908) red-brick correctional facility designated as an Important Cultural Property. The project transforms 48 former prison cells into luxury suites, complete with a museum wing open to day visitors. With a site area of over 100,000 square meters, it represents one of Japan's most ambitious adaptive reuse projects.
Additionally, the historic Nara Hotel, designed by the legendary architect Tatsuno Kingo (who also designed Tokyo Station) and opened in 1909, is undergoing a major renovation of its annex wing, rebranding it as the "West Wing" with enhanced facilities planned for fall 2026.
Value Management Corporation has also entered the Nara scene with NIPPONIA HOTEL Nara Naramachi, converting a former sake brewery in the historic Naramachi district into a boutique accommodation.
The Todai-ji project adds a new category entirely — a purpose-built luxury property on active sacred temple grounds operated in direct partnership with the religious institution itself. This temple-hotel collaboration model is rare even in Japan, where the boundary between secular tourism and religious sites has traditionally been carefully maintained.
What Guests Can Expect
While specific pricing has not been announced, the combination of factors suggests this will be positioned at the ultra-premium end of Nara's accommodation market. Consider the elements:
- Location: Within the UNESCO World Heritage buffer zone, steps from Todai-ji's Great Buddha Hall and surrounded by Nara Park's famous free-roaming deer
- Exclusivity: Only 25 rooms across a sprawling 12,000 m² site — roughly 480 m² of grounds per room
- Cultural access: Tea ceremony rooms, local gastronomy using Nara ingredients, and potential for unique cultural experiences arranged through Kintetsu Group's wider network of facilities in the Kansai region
- Proximity: A 10-minute walk from Kintetsu Nara Station, making it highly accessible despite its secluded atmosphere
The emphasis on local food culture (jimoto shokuzai) is worth noting. Nara Prefecture has a rich but often underappreciated culinary tradition, including kakinoha-zushi (persimmon leaf-wrapped sushi), kuzu (arrowroot) sweets, artisanal sōmen noodles, and craft sake brewed with pure water from the Kasuga primeval forest. A dedicated restaurant on temple grounds could become a destination in its own right.
The Bigger Picture: Sacred Spaces and Tourism
Japan is increasingly finding creative ways to leverage its historic and sacred sites for high-value tourism while maintaining cultural integrity. This trend includes temple stay programs (shukubō), cultural property hotels, and now direct partnerships between religious institutions and professional hotel operators.
The Todai-ji collaboration is notable because it addresses a genuine challenge: how to encourage overnight stays in Nara while respecting the city's irreplaceable cultural assets. By choosing a low-density, low-rise, garden-centered design on land that the temple continues to own, the project creates economic value without transferring cultural control.
For international visitors, this represents a chance to experience something truly unique — sleeping on ground that has been considered sacred since the 8th century, surrounded by a landscape that has inspired poets, artists, and pilgrims for over a millennium.
Construction costs have not been disclosed, but given the sensitivity of building on a designated historic site, the archaeological surveys, preservation requirements, and premium materials needed to harmonize with the surroundings, the investment is likely substantial.
Looking Forward
As Japan prepares for continued growth in international tourism — the country welcomed over 42 million visitors in 2025, shattering previous records — projects like the Todai-ji retreat represent a shift toward quality over quantity. Rather than simply adding hotel rooms, these developments aim to create irreplaceable experiences that justify longer stays and deeper engagement with local culture.
Nara, once the day-trip afterthought of Kansai tourism, is positioning itself as a luxury cultural destination in its own right. The question now is whether this model — temples partnering with hotel companies, historic buildings becoming accommodations, sacred grounds hosting overnight guests — will become a template for other historic cities across Japan.
What do you think about sleeping on the grounds of a 1,300-year-old temple? Would a project like this work in your country — where historic or sacred sites partner with luxury hotels? We'd love to hear how your culture balances heritage preservation with tourism development.
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Reactions in Japan
My first reaction hearing 'hotel on Todai-ji grounds' was 'wait, is that okay?' But low-rise scattered buildings centered around a garden won't ruin the scenery. The fact that the temple itself is actively involved is actually reassuring.
25 rooms on 12,000 sqm means about 480 sqm per room. This is clearly aimed at the ultra-wealthy. Probably a world most of us will never see.
As a Nara resident, I'm honestly happy. Kyoto always gets the spotlight and Nara was treated as a day-trip destination. It finally feels like we're being recognized as worth staying overnight.
The undisclosed construction costs bother me. Building on a historic site must require massive archaeological survey expenses. If no public money is involved that's fine, but I want proper transparency.
A tea ceremony room on the premises is amazing! Having matcha on Todai-ji grounds would excite not just foreign tourists but Japanese visitors too.
Another luxury property after Hoshinoya Nara Prison. What Nara actually needs isn't just high-end hotels but decent mid-range accommodations.
I work in tourism, and Nara's accommodation shortage was serious. Day-trippers → no hotels → nobody stays → no hotels built. This vicious cycle might finally break.
As an archaeologist, building on ground where you never know what's buried makes me nervous. I just hope they conduct thorough excavation surveys.
Living along the Kintetsu line, Mikasa and Tsukihi-tei are both fantastic properties. If the same team is behind this, quality is guaranteed. The only issue is the price haha.
A hotel where deer might eat your luggage — in a way, that's the world's most uniquely thrilling accommodation experience.
A scheme where the religious institution keeps the land while a hotel company builds and operates could become a model case. If the temple profits, it can fund cultural property maintenance. Win-win.
Wait, a Buddhist temple lending land for commercial construction — what does that mean for it as a place of worship? Have they considered the feelings of parishioners?
If there's an experience plan like 'private nighttime access to the Great Buddha Hall'... people would pay even $6,500 per night. Dead center for targeting wealthy inbound tourists.
My only Nara hotel memory is a mediocre ryokan from a school trip, so I'm all for the luxury direction. Please redefine adult travel to Nara.
Opening in 2028 means after the Osaka Expo. Tourism infrastructure across Kansai is definitely progressing. The timing isn't bad at all.
All these companies investing in Nara basically tells you how much revenue Nara has been losing by lacking proper accommodations until now.
In the UK we have plenty of historic buildings converted to hotels (National Trust properties etc.) but I've never heard of one being built on active religious grounds. Japanese temples seem to have this flexibility.
Rome's Trevi Fountain just went paid, and monetizing heritage is a global trend. But Todai-ji's approach has class — it feels like coexistence rather than just cash grabbing.
Korea has temple stays too, but a full-scale luxury hotel collaboration is a different level entirely. Honestly jealous. Something similar could work in Gyeongju.
At 25 rooms probably $500-1000/night, annual capacity is limited. The branding effect for Nara might be bigger than the direct economic impact.
On my last Japan trip, Nara was eerily quiet by 5 PM since all tourists had left — obviously because there's nowhere to stay. This hotel addresses the fundamental problem.
France has successful heritage hotel models like Spain's Paradores, but religious sites remain contentious. The question of secularism and how to balance it with such projects is complex.
In India, hotels sprout around temples uncontrolled and ruin the landscape. Japan's model where the temple itself controls quality and only permits high-end facilities is worth studying.
A hotel where you eat breakfast with deer! That alone will go viral on Instagram. Marketing-wise, you can't beat this location.
Nara is already a popular destination for wealthy Chinese visitors. A package combining prayer at the Great Buddha with luxury accommodation will definitely find demand.
In Nigeria, preserving historic buildings is challenging enough, let alone economically utilizing them while maintaining integrity. It's not just about funding — it reflects a different cultural attitude toward heritage.
If a hotel like this was proposed near Mexico's Teotihuacan ruins, it would spark massive controversy. Are there no protests against this in Japan?
In Krakow's old town, too many hotels have caused overtourism issues. 25 rooms is a smart choice. I appreciate the quality-over-quantity approach to protecting the area.
In Australia, building tourism facilities on Aboriginal sacred sites faces strong backlash (remember Uluru climbing ban). The cultural context is entirely different, but the comparison is fascinating.
I'm Japanese living in the US. When I told American friends, they said 'hotel at a temple? Cool!' It really hit me how differently cultures perceive the religious weight of such projects.
In Sweden, church maintenance funding is a serious problem. Japan's model of religious sites coexisting with tourism could be instructive for Nordic churches too.