How walkable is Nara?
By Oscar Higson-Spence. Updated
Nara (Nara-shi) has a walkability score of 64 out of 100 across the 5 km around its centre, which makes it somewhat walkable: some errands can be done on foot. It is the joint 58th most walkable of the 70 cities ranked in Japan, with 1 other.
What's within walking distance of the centre
1,896 shops, restaurants, parks and other everyday places are mapped within a 30 minute walk of central Nara. The nearest grocery is about 2 minutes away on foot. It earns full or nearly full points for groceries, restaurants & bars, shopping, coffee, banks, schools, books & libraries and culture & entertainment.
Groceries
- 山の辺ファーム, 2 min
- 森井商店, 3 min
Restaurants & bars
- Authentic Table Tavern, 1 min
- メロンドゥメロン 三条店, 1 min
Shopping
- 木のうた薬局三条通り店, 1 min
- REGAL SHOES 奈良店, 1 min
Coffee
- 珈琲館奈良三条店, 2 min
- Cafe Cojica, 2 min
Banks
- みずほ銀行奈良支店, 3 min
- 南都銀行, 5 min
Parks
- 菩提川公園, 8 min
- 芝辻町四丁目街区公園, 22 min
Schools
- 親愛幼稚園, 8 min
- 奈良市立済美小学校, 10 min
Books & libraries
- BO/OK artbook, 7 min
- フジケイ堂もちいどの店, 7 min
Culture & entertainment
- Billy -THE LIVE-, 2 min
- サロン涼健, 2 min
Measured from the centre at 34.6812, 135.8240, the point near Nara's middle with the most places in walking range. Walking times assume 80 m per minute along an estimated street route.
Street layout
Within 800 m of the centre there are about 142 street intersections per km², and blocks average 81 m long. That is a well-connected street grid, so the score is not reduced.
How far walkability reaches
Nara's score of 64 is the average across the 5 km around its centre, the point with the most everyday places within a walk. Walkability averages 94 within 1 km of the centre, 68 from 1 to 3 km out and 57 from 3 to 5 km out. 19 of the 91 points within 5 km fall on water or on land without streets, such as hillsides, forest or farmland, and are left out, so the score describes only the built-up part. 54% of the sampled area scores 70 or more, where most errands can be done on foot. Walkability falls off steeply away from the centre, so check a specific address on the map.
- 90+
- 70–89
- 50–69
- 25–49
- 0–24
Each hexagon is the score at a point, 1 km from its neighbours, across the 5 km around central Nara. Rings mark 1, 3 and 5 km from the centre. Gaps are water or land without streets.
| Area | Score | Scoring 70+ |
|---|---|---|
| Centre | 98 | 100% |
| Within 1 km | 94 | 100% |
| 1 to 3 km out | 68 | 54% |
| 3 to 5 km out | 57 | 46% |
Nearby cities
| City | Distance | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Hirakata, Japan | 20 km | 76 |
| Higashiōsaka, Japan | 20 km | 93 |
| Takatsuki, Japan | 25 km | 75 |
| Osaka, Japan | 28 km | 94 |
| Toyonaka, Japan | 33 km | 85 |
Questions about walking in Nara
Is Nara a walkable city?
Partly. Nara has a walkability score of 64 out of 100 across the 5 km around its centre, which makes it somewhat walkable: some errands can be done on foot. Its centre scores 98. The score covers about 80 km² around the busiest point rather than the whole city, and suburbs further out are usually less walkable, so check a specific address on the map. It ranks joint 58th of 70 cities in Japan and joint 388th of 690 worldwide on How Walkable.
What is the most walkable city in Japan?
Tokyo is the most walkable of the 70 cities ranked in Japan, with a score of 98. Nara ranks joint 58th with 64.
How does Nara compare with nearby cities?
Nara is less walkable than its nearest ranked neighbours: it scores 64, against Hirakata (76, 20 km away), Higashiōsaka (93, 20 km away) and Takatsuki (75, 25 km away).
Which part of Nara is most walkable?
Nara's most walkable area is its centre, the point near the middle of the city with the most places in walking range, which scores 98. Walkability averages 94 within 1 km of it. Beyond 2.5 km, it holds up best to the west (averaging 81) and falls most to the north-east (20).
How is Nara's walkability score calculated?
For Nara it is the average of 72 points spaced 1 km apart within 5 km of its busiest point, leaving out water and land without streets; 39 of them score 70 or more. Each point counts groceries, restaurants, shops, cafés, banks, parks, schools, libraries and cultural venues within a 30 minute walk, gives nearer places more weight, and loses up to 20% where streets are sparse or blocks are long, using open map data from Overture Maps (release 2026-09-23.1) and OpenStreetMap. It measures what is within a walk, not what the walk is like: pavements, traffic, safety, hills and heat are not part of the score.
This page is generated from open map data with a published walkability method, explained in the methodology. Places from Overture Maps release 2026-09-23.1. City position and population from GeoNames.
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