Q.How many World Heritage sites does Nara have, and where are they?

Four sites, listed by year of inscription

Nara Prefecture has four World Heritage sites, all of them cultural. In chronological order: the Buddhist Monuments in the Hōryū-ji Area (1993), the Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara (1998), the Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range (2004), and the Capitals of Asuka-Fujiwara (2026). Each reflects a different layer of Nara's history. The table below shows the inscription year and main location of each.

Where are the first two? Ikaruga and Nara City

The first site, the Buddhist Monuments in the Hōryū-ji Area, was inscribed in 1993 and, together with Himeji Castle, became one of Japan's first World Cultural Heritage sites. Its components are the wooden buildings of Hōryū-ji and Hokki-ji, located in Ikaruga. The second, the Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara, was inscribed on December 2, 1998, and has eight components: Tōdai-ji, Kōfuku-ji, Kasuga-Taisha, Kasugayama Primeval Forest, Gangō-ji, Yakushi-ji, Tōshōdai-ji and the Heijō Palace Site — all in Nara City.

The third site spans three prefectures; Nara's part is Yoshino-Ōmine and more

The third site, the Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range, was inscribed on July 7, 2004, and spans three prefectures: Nara, Wakayama and Mie. Within Nara, it includes Yoshino-Ōmine, the Ōmine Okugake-michi trail, and the Kohechi route. What sets it apart is that it recognizes mountain sacred sites together with the pilgrimage routes connecting them, covering a wide swath of southern Nara's mountains.

The fourth: Asuka-Fujiwara, inscribed on July 26, 2026

On June 6, 2026, ICOMOS, UNESCO's advisory body, recommended the Capitals of Asuka-Fujiwara for inscription, and the 48th session of the World Heritage Committee in Busan, South Korea, formally inscribed it on July 26, 2026. The property has 19 components across one village and two cities — Asuka, Kashihara and Sakurai — grouped into palace/government-office sites, Buddhist temple sites, and tombs. It is Japan's 22nd cultural site and its 27th World Heritage property overall, counting natural sites.

Datasets behind this article

• 世界遺産国土交通省

  National Land Numerical Information: World Cultural Heritage Data

  GIS polygons of World Heritage property areas and buffer zones in Japan, including three of Nara’s four inscribed sites — the base data for analyzing tourism circuits now that Asuka-Fujiwara has joined them.

  💡Questions this data can answer

  What are the exact boundaries of World Heritage properties and buffer zones in Nara?

  SHP

  Updated2026-08-23
• 世界遺産世界遺産「飛鳥・藤原」登録推進協議会

  Component Parts of the World Heritage “Asuka-Fujiwara”

  The official list of all 19 component parts of “Asuka-Fujiwara: Archaeological sites of Japan’s Ancient Capitals and Related Properties”, inscribed on July 26, 2026, at the 48th session of the World Heritage Committee in Busan, South Korea — including the Asuka Palace Site, Fujiwara Palace Site, Ishibutai Kofun and Kitora Kofun, each with name, location and designation date.

  💡Questions this data can answer

  What are the 19 component parts of Asuka-Fujiwara and where is each located?

  HTML

  Updated2026-08-23
• 世界遺産奈良市

  Nara City Designated Cultural Properties and World Heritage Zone Data

  City-designated cultural properties as CSV, plus shapefiles of the property areas, buffer zones and harmonization areas of the World Heritage “Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara” — rare GIS-ready data for tourism mapping.

  💡Questions this data can answer

  Where exactly are the property areas and buffer zones of Ancient Nara?

  CSVSHP

  Updated2026-08-23
• 文化財文化庁

  Database of National Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs)

  The official database of cultural properties designated, registered, or selected by the Japanese government. Searchable by name, category, prefecture, designation type, owner, and period, with CSV export of search results. The primary source for a comprehensive view of National Treasures and Important Cultural Properties in Nara. Photos carry separate rights — treat only text data as reusable.

  💡Questions this data can answer

  How many National Treasures and Important Cultural Properties are in Nara?

  HTMLCSV

  Updated2026-08-23