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ArticlesPlain questions about Nara tourism, answered with data. Each article links to the datasets behind it.
World Heritage & Asuka12
- World Heritage & Asuka
Q.Asuka-Fujiwara is now World Heritage — what was decided, and when?
On July 26, 2026, the 48th session of the World Heritage Committee in Busan, South Korea, inscribed “Asuka-Fujiwara: Archaeological sites of Japan's Ancient Capitals and Related Properties.” Its 19 component parts span Asuka Village, Kashihara and Sakurai, making it Japan's 27th World Heritage property and 22nd cultural property.
Published 2026-07-26
- World Heritage & Asuka
Q.Where was the capital at Asuka? The palaces that kept moving
Through the 6th–7th centuries, successive emperors built their palaces (miya) one after another at Asuka, in the southern Nara Basin. The hallmark of the era was that the palace moved with nearly every reign, yet many of those palaces are layered on a single site, the Asuka Palace Site (former name: the presumed Asuka Itabuki Palace Site) in Asuka Village. In 694 Empress Jitō moved the capital to Fujiwara-kyō, and in 710 Empress Genmei moved it to Heijō-kyō (Nara), closing the roughly century-long era of capitals at Asuka.
Published 2026-06-25
- World Heritage & Asuka
Q.How many tourists visit Asuka, a village of just 5,000 people?
Asuka Village has about 4,977 residents (as of June 1, 2026; village data), yet it draws roughly 600,000 to 800,000 visitors a year in recent times—more than 100 times its population. At its peak in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the village saw about 1.8 million visitors a year.
Published 2026-06-25
- World Heritage & Asuka
Q.Kitora and Takamatsuzuka murals: what makes them so special?
Kitora and Takamatsuzuka in Asuka are late-period tombs (kofun) built around the late 7th to early 8th century. Both are designated National Special Historic Sites, and both sets of murals are National Treasures. Kitora is the only tomb in Japan where all four guardian deities (the Azure Dragon, Vermilion Bird, White Tiger and Black Tortoise) survive, and its ceiling bears a full-fledged astronomical star chart.
Published 2026-06-25
- World Heritage & Asuka
Q.How many World Heritage sites does Nara have, and where are they?
Nara Prefecture has four World Heritage sites, all cultural: the Buddhist Monuments in the Hōryū-ji Area (1993, Ikaruga), the Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara (1998, Nara City), the Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range (2004, spanning three prefectures including Nara), and the Capitals of Asuka-Fujiwara (Asuka Village, Kashihara, Sakurai), inscribed on July 26, 2026, at the 48th session of the World Heritage Committee in Busan, South Korea.
Published 2026-06-19
- World Heritage & Asuka
Q.Tōdai-ji, Kōfuku-ji, Kasuga Taisha — what's the difference?
All three are component assets of the World Heritage site "Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara" (inscribed December 1998), but they are very different in character. Tōdai-ji is the head temple of the Kegon school, home to the Great Buddha of Nara (the Rushana Buddha, about 14.7m tall, consecrated in 752). Kōfuku-ji is the head temple of the Hossō school and the clan temple of the Fujiwara, holding 27 National Treasures. Kasuga Taisha is a Shintō shrine founded in 768 that enshrines the Fujiwara clan deities and is the head shrine of some 3,000 Kasuga shrines nationwide.
Published 2026-06-19
- World Heritage & Asuka
Q.Asuka's tombs: how do Ishibutai, Takamatsuzuka and Kitora differ?
Asuka's famous tombs differ sharply in character. Ishibutai is one of Japan's largest square tombs, its giant stones exposed (said to be Soga no Umako's grave); Takamatsuzuka and Kitora are late-period tombs famous for vivid murals, both designated National Treasures. Tombs of imperial rank, meanwhile, take a special octagonal form.
Published 2026-06-18
- World Heritage & Asuka
Q.How does Asuka-Fujiwara differ from Nara's other World Heritage sites?
Where Nara's other World Heritage sites (Hōryū-ji, Historic Nara) showcase temple and shrine buildings still standing today, Asuka-Fujiwara centers on archaeological remains — palace sites, temple foundations and tombs largely beneath the ground. Its key distinction is that it shows the very process by which the nation of Japan formed; it comprises 19 components.
Published 2026-06-18
- World Heritage & Asuka
Q.Asuka — what makes it so remarkable?
Asuka matters because it is where the nation of Japan was born. In the Asuka period (6th–8th centuries), a string of national firsts appeared here — the first full-scale Buddhist temple, the first planned capital, the first water clock. That stage, the "Capitals and Related Properties of Asuka-Fujiwara" (19 components), was inscribed as a World Heritage Site in July 2026.
Published 2026-06-18
- World Heritage & Asuka
Q.Why are there no tall buildings in Asuka village?
Asuka has no tall buildings or apartment blocks because the entire village is protected by law. On top of the 1966 Ancient Capitals Preservation Law, a special-measures law for Asuka alone (the "Asuka Law") was enacted in 1980, placing the whole village under historic-landscape protection. Its landscape ordinance also keeps homes to two stories as a rule.
Published 2026-06-18
- World Heritage & Asuka
Q.Southern Yamato in the world-heritage spotlight: what do the numbers say about Kashihara, Sakurai and Asuka?
Southern Yamato is not one uniform area. It is a cluster of three very different poles: Kashihara, a city of about 118,000; Sakurai (about 54,000), home of Ōmiwa Shrine and the ancient Yamanobe-no-michi trail; and Asuka, a village of roughly 5,000 with a 41% elderly ratio, dotted with ancient sites. People flow through Kashihara as the hub, and Asuka's sightseeing is a touring style done by car and on foot. The question posed by Asuka-Fujiwara's World Heritage inscription, decided in July 2026, is whether this often passed-through area can become a place to stay.
Published 2026-06-16
- World Heritage & Asuka
Q.What happened to towns after they became World Heritage Sites? Reading the numbers to think about southern Yamato's future
Becoming a World Heritage Site does not guarantee a lasting lift in visitors. Iwami Ginzan surged to 810,000 the year after listing, then fell to 250,000 by 2023 — about 30% of its peak. Tomioka Silk Mill peaked at roughly 1.34 million in FY2014 and has since dropped to around 370,000. Meanwhile, an already-famous site like Mt. Fuji saw no surge from listing at all. The data suggest that listing tends to be a momentary maximum, and what divides the aftermath is the design of capacity and circulation.
Published 2026-06-16
Inbound & tourism spending6
- Inbound & tourism spending
Q.Which countries do most of Nara's foreign visitors come from?
In 2024, China was by far the top source of overnight foreign visitors to Nara City, with 153,700 people (45.2% of the total). The United States ranked second (38,300; 11.3%) and Taiwan third (27,800; 8.2%). Nationwide, however, South Korea led all markets in 2024 (about 8.82 million), so Nara's profile differs notably from Japan's overall.
Published 2026-06-19
- Inbound & tourism spending
Q.How many tourists visit Nara each year? Has it recovered to pre-COVID levels?
Nara Prefecture recorded 43.62 million tourist visits in 2024, up 9.3% (3.71 million) year on year. That was 1.40 million, or 3.1%, below the 45.02 million recorded in 2019 — a recovery to about 96.9% of the pre-COVID level. Tourism spending, meanwhile, reached a record ¥206.0 billion, 14.0% above 2019.
Published 2026-06-19
- Inbound & tourism spending
Q.Why is Nara a "day-trip" destination?
In 2024, Nara Prefecture recorded roughly 2.83 million overnight stays (2,834,450), ranking 44th of Japan's 47 prefectures. Visitors stay in neighboring Kyoto (about 12.1x more stays) and Osaka (about 20.3x) and treat Nara as a day trip. In Nara City, 86.3% of visitors come only for the day — a striking gap given the prefecture drew about 43.62 million visitors in 2024.
Published 2026-06-19
- Inbound & tourism spending
Q.What Japanese food do inbound visitors most want to eat?
The thing inbound visitors most look forward to before their trip is "eating Japanese food" — about 82% (JTA, 2024), ahead of "shopping" (about 63%) as the single biggest reason to visit. In a survey of what they actually ate in Osaka, ramen ranked first.
Published 2026-06-18
- Inbound & tourism spending
Q.What do inbound visitors spend the most on?
In 2024, inbound visitors spent a record ¥8.13 trillion in Japan. By category, lodging was the largest at 33.6%, followed by shopping (29.5%) and food & drink (21.5%). Spending per person was about ¥227,000 (JTA final annual report, 2024).
Published 2026-06-18
- Inbound & tourism spending
Q.After a trip, do people re-order the local products they loved online?
Yes — a fair number of travelers do re-order a regional product online after getting home. But there is almost no nationwide public data that directly measures whether *domestic* travelers buy again online after visiting a place. The closest figure comes from a survey of inbound visitors: 58.2% of those who liked a souvenir kept buying it after returning home, and 24.4% of them did so via cross-border EC or mail order (MAFF, 2019).
Published 2026-06-18
Getting to know Nara13
- Getting to know Nara
Q.What rules protect Nara's historic landscapes?
In Nara, 6,024.0 hectares across five municipalities are designated Historic Landscape Preservation Areas under the national Ancient Capitals Preservation Law (as of March 1, 2026), and Asuka village is protected in its entirety — the only whole-village case in Japan. Add three nationally selected historic townscape districts, three certified "historic city" plans, and landscape-plan zones that effectively cover the whole prefecture. Read this map of regulations in reverse, and you get a map of the places Japan has officially deemed worth preserving.
Published 2026-07-06
- Getting to know Nara
Q.How many National Treasures does Nara have?
As of April 1, 2026, Nara Prefecture holds 208 National Treasures — third in Japan after Tokyo and Kyoto. But for sculpture (mostly Buddhist statues) and architecture, Nara ranks first in the country. By depth of heritage, it is unmatched.
Published 2026-06-29
- Getting to know Nara
Q.Where are the toilets in Nara Park, and how many?
The official Nara Park Quick Guide lists 28 toilets inside the park (Nara Prefecture). Many are wheelchair-accessible, with ostomate and baby-changing facilities at several. The prefecture also publishes open data covering each toilet's location and even its number of fixtures.
Published 2026-06-29
- Getting to know Nara
Q.Why does a train line cut right through the Nara Palace Site?
When the Osaka Electric Tramway — the forerunner of today's Kintetsu Nara Line — opened in 1914, the Nara Palace Site had not yet been designated a historic site and the area was farmland. Later excavations revealed the palace grounds were far larger than assumed, so the railway ended up slicing through what became a World Heritage Site in 1998. The prefecture, city and Kintetsu submitted a 4.4 km relocation plan to the national government in 2021, but in 2023 the governor announced a shift to "elevating the tracks at Yamato-Saidaiji Station only."
Published 2026-06-19
- Getting to know Nara
Q.Is Nara really an ancient capital? When was the capital there?
Yes. For most of the 7th–8th centuries, Japan's capital sat within what is now Nara Prefecture. It moved from the palaces of Asuka to Fujiwara-kyō (694–710) and then Heijō-kyō (710–784) — the Heijō-kyō era being the "Nara period." Nara City is even formally designated an "ancient capital" by law (the Ancient Capitals Preservation Law).
Published 2026-06-19
- Getting to know Nara
Q.Is Nara's population shrinking?
Yes. Nara Prefecture's population peaked in 2000 at about 1.44 million (1,442,795) and has been falling ever since. The latest estimate puts it at roughly 1.27 million (1,266,804) as of June 1, 2026 — a drop of about 176,000 from the peak.
Published 2026-06-19
- Getting to know Nara
Q.What's the difference between Nara and Kyoto?
Both are ancient capitals with comparable size, yet their tourism scale is worlds apart. In overnight stays (2024), Kyoto Prefecture logged about 34.2 million guest-nights versus Nara's roughly 2.83 million — Kyoto is about 12 times larger. Even Kyoto City alone (about 50.28 million annual visitors in 2023) outdraws all of Nara Prefecture (about 43.62 million in 2024). Nara is a short-haul, day-trip destination; Kyoto is a stay-over destination that attracts huge numbers of foreign visitors — two contrasting characters for two World Heritage cities.
Published 2026-06-19
- Getting to know Nara
Q.Just how big is the Great Buddha of Nara?
Even seated, the bronze Buddha stands 14.98m (about 15m) tall — roughly 18m if you count the lotus pedestal. The body alone is estimated at around 250 tonnes, and casting it took some 500 tonnes of copper. It is regarded as the world's largest bronze (cast) Buddha, and the hall that houses it is one of the world's largest wooden structures. Sources: Todai-ji official, nippon.com, and JNTO.
Published 2026-06-19
- Getting to know Nara
Q.What is Nara actually famous for?
The Great Buddha, the deer, the World Heritage sites — and the sheer number of National Treasures. Tōdai-ji's Great Buddha stands about 18 m tall including its pedestal; Nara Park recorded a record 1,687 deer in the July 2026 census; and the prefecture has four World Heritage sites. Nara also holds 208 National Treasures, ranking 3rd in Japan, and ranks 1st nationwide for designated sculptures and historic buildings.
Published 2026-06-19
- Getting to know Nara
Q.What 'world's-firsts' can you find in Nara?
Nara has a surprising number of world-firsts. The world's largest MUJI (Kashihara) and mont-bell (Nara City), the world's oldest wooden buildings (Hōryū-ji) and star chart (Kitora tomb), and one of the world's largest wooden Buddha halls (Tōdai-ji). Local industry even has a company with the world's top share in precision balls — and the list grows further once you include national firsts.
Published 2026-06-18
- Getting to know Nara
Q.How many deer are there in Nara Park?
1,687 as of July 16, 2026 — up 222 from the previous year and a new record since comparable surveys began in 1953. The total comprises 411 males, 990 females and 286 fawns.
Published 2026-06-11
- Getting to know Nara
Q.Is 'Yoshino' just the cherry blossom mountain? What lies deeper in Oku-Yamato?
Yoshinoyama is only the gateway. Yoshino District comprises 3 towns and 8 villages, each utterly different: Totsukawa, Japan's largest village; Tenkawa, heartland of mountain asceticism; Nosegawa, famous for its sea of clouds. Nara Prefecture brands this southern and eastern region — about 80% of its land — as 'Oku-Yamato'.
Published 2026-06-11
- Getting to know Nara
Q.Is it true that almost everyone in Nara lives in the north, and the rest is mountains?
Essentially true. Over 90% of the prefecture's 1.27 million people live around the Nara Basin in the northwest, and about 77% of the land is forest. Yoshino District — roughly 56% of the prefecture's area — is home to just 34,000 people, under 3% of the population.
Published 2026-06-10
Access & transport7
- Access & transport
Q.Which Kintetsu stations in Nara are the busiest?
By Kintetsu's per-station passenger counts (surveyed November 2021), the busiest stations in Nara Prefecture are Gakuenmae, Kintetsu-Nara, Ikoma and Yamato-Saidaiji — each around 40,000 people a day. Then come Yamato-Yagi (~31,000), Takanohara (~28,000) and Shin-Ōmiya (~25,000). Interchange hubs (Saidaiji, Yagi, Ikoma) and residential commuter stations (Gakuenmae, Tomio) have very different characters. Note: there is no official open data on the number of restaurants around each station.
Published 2026-06-21
- Access & transport
Q.How do you get from Nara City's World Heritage to Asuka's?
Mostly a single Kintetsu run. From Kintetsu-Nara — the gateway to the World Heritage of ancient Nara — change at Yamato-Saidaiji and Kashihara-Jingūmae to reach Asuka Station in about 47 minutes for ¥700 (two transfers). And the transfer stations themselves are World Heritage: Yamato-Saidaiji is the stop for the Heijō Palace Site, and Nishinokyō, one stop away, serves Yakushi-ji and Tōshōdai-ji — a route that traces the World Heritage sites from north to south.
Published 2026-06-21
- Access & transport
Q.Is the Keinawa Expressway fully connected yet?
Not yet. The roughly 120 km Keinawa Expressway linking Kyoto, Nara and Wakayama is about 70% open, but two missing links remain inside Nara Prefecture. The hardest is near Nara City — to protect the wooden tablets buried beneath the World Heritage Heijō Palace Site, the road is to be bored as a shield tunnel below the archaeological layer.
Published 2026-06-19
- Access & transport
Q.Will the Linear Chuo Shinkansen come to Nara?
Yes, by plan. Since the 1973 basic plan, "near Nara City" has been designated an official transit point on the roughly 438 km Tokyo–Osaka route of the Linear Chuo Shinkansen. The timing, however, remains uncertain: the Nagoya–Osaka section was originally targeted for 2045, and the government aims for full opening as early as 2037 — but with the preceding Shinagawa–Nagoya section now expected only after 2034, reaching Nara could come later still.
Published 2026-06-19
- Access & transport
Q.Does Nara have an airport? How do you get there by plane?
Nara Prefecture has no airport with scheduled commercial flights (per Japan's MLIT airport classification, as of 2024). To fly in, you use either Osaka International (Itami), which is closer to Nara, or Kansai International, which has more flights and budget carriers. Airport limousine buses reach JR Nara Station in about 77 minutes from Itami (1,750 yen one-way) and about 103 minutes from Kansai (2,400 yen one-way), as of 2026.
Published 2026-06-19
- Access & transport
Q.How close is Nara to Osaka and Kyoto?
About 35–40 minutes from Namba by Kintetsu, and about 35 minutes from Kyoto by limited express — it feels like a single suburban train ride. But this closeness has a cost: most visitors come as day-trippers, leaving Nara 44th among Japan's 47 prefectures in overnight stays (2024).
Published 2026-06-10
- Access & transport
Q.Getting around Nara: Kintetsu or JR?
For sightseeing, Kintetsu is the main player: it has roughly 90 stations in the prefecture versus about 33 for JR, and serves both Nara Park and Yoshinoyama. But Hōryū-ji is JR territory, and JR is faster from Osaka and Tennōji stations — the right answer is to use both.
Published 2026-06-10
Nature, climate & seasons9
- Nature, climate & seasons
Q.What kind of mountain is Mount Ikoma, and is it really Nara's most accessible peak?
The Ikoma Mountains form a low ridge running north–south along the western edge of the Nara Basin. Its main peak, Mount Ikoma, stands about 642 m on the border of Ikoma City (Nara) and Higashiosaka City (Osaka); together with Mount Shigi (Ozutake, about 437 m) to the south, it lies within the Kongō-Ikoma-Kisen Quasi-National Park. Reachable in minutes from city centres in both Osaka and Nara via the Kintetsu lines, and home to Japan's first commercial funicular (opened 1918), it is Nara's most accessible mountain for hiking and night views.
Published 2026-06-24
- Nature, climate & seasons
Q.Is there an easy mountain to climb near central Nara?
Yes. Along the southwestern rim of the Nara Basin runs the Kongo mountain range. Its highest peak, Mt. Kongo (Kongosan), tops out at the Katsuragi-dake summit at about 1,125 m (on the border of Gose City and Chihaya-Akasaka in Osaka) and is a popular mountain famous for repeat climbing; Mt. Yamato-Katsuragi stands about 959 m and is known for its spring azaleas, 'a million blooms at a glance'; and Mt. Nijo is a twin-peaked mountain whose higher summit (Odake) is about 517 m. All lie within the Kongo-Ikoma-Kisen Quasi-National Park and are easy to reach by Kintetsu, JR or car from the built-up parts of the Nara Basin (Geospatial Information Authority of Japan; Gose City; Kashiba City; and others).
Published 2026-06-24
- Nature, climate & seasons
Q.What is Nara's highest mountain? Nara's mountains by the numbers
Nara's highest mountain is Mt. Hakkyogatake (1,915 m), rising in the Omine Mountains of the south. It is in fact the highest peak not only in Nara but across the entire Kinki region (seven prefectures). Nara has two of Japan's 100 Famous Mountains — Mt. Omine and Mt. Odaigahara — both in the south. With a forest cover of about 77%, far above the national average of roughly 67%, the prefecture's terrain has a clear north–south contrast: high peaks concentrated in the south, and lower hills around the Nara Basin in the north.
Published 2026-06-24
- Nature, climate & seasons
Q.What kind of mountain is Odaigahara?
It's one of Japan's 100 Famous Mountains, sitting in southeastern Nara on the border with Mie Prefecture. Its highest peak, Mt. Hidegatake, stands at 1,695 m (Geospatial Information Authority of Japan: 1695.0 m) on the Nara–Mie border. Odaigahara forms the southern end of the Daiko Mountains, a range running roughly 30 km north to south up to Mt. Takami, and is famous for old-growth forest and ghostly stands of dead spruce nourished by some of Honshu's heaviest rainfall. Because the Odaigahara Driveway climbs almost to the summit parking lot, it's one of the easier peaks among the 100 Famous Mountains.
Published 2026-06-24
- Nature, climate & seasons
Q.Is the highest mountain in the Kinki region really in Nara?
Yes. Mt. Hakkyogatake (1,915 m), rising in the Omine Mountains of southern Nara, is the highest peak in both Nara Prefecture and the entire Kinki region. It straddles the border of Tenkawa and Kamikitayama villages and is the main summit of "Mt. Omine," one of Japan's 100 Famous Mountains. The Omine Okugakemichi, the ascetic pilgrimage trail running the length of the range, was inscribed in 2004 as part of the World Heritage Site "Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range."
Published 2026-06-24
- Nature, climate & seasons
Q.When and where should you see the autumn leaves in Nara?
In central Nara, the peak is typically mid-to-late November as a rough guide. In Nara Park the ginkgo and cherry trees start turning from late October, with maples peaking from mid-November onward. Tanzan Shrine, Shoryakuji, Hasedera and Muroji all run roughly mid-November to early December. By contrast, the high country turns earlier — around mid-October at Odaigahara and early-to-mid November at Mitarai Gorge (2025; Nara Prefecture official tourism site and others).
Published 2026-06-19
- Nature, climate & seasons
Q.Where does it rain the most in Nara?
It's Mt. Odaigahara in the Kii Mountains. According to local references, it receives over 3,500 mm of rain a year, ranking it among the wettest places in Honshu alongside Yakushima. By contrast, Nara City (Nara Local Meteorological Office), where most visitors go, gets 1,365.1 mm a year (JMA normals, 1991–2020) — among the lowest in the prefecture. Between the mountainous south and the inland basin, annual rainfall differs by more than 2.5 times. Note that because there is no JMA station on Odaigahara itself, the 3,500 mm figure is a cited value, not an official JMA normal.
Published 2026-06-19
- Nature, climate & seasons
Q.Nara sits in a basin — is it really hotter in summer and colder in winter than you'd expect?
Yes. In August, Nara City's average daytime high reaches 33.4°C — almost the same as coastal Osaka (33.7°C). Yet in January the morning low averages just 0.8°C, more than 2°C colder than Osaka. As an inland basin far from the sea, Nara is "as hot as Osaka by day in summer, but sharply colder on winter mornings" (JMA climate normals, 1991–2020).
Published 2026-06-17
- Nature, climate & seasons
Q.When and where should you see the cherry blossoms of Yoshino?
Peak season centers on early-to-mid April. Some 30,000 trees of 200 varieties bloom upward from Shimo-senbon at the foot to Oku-senbon near the top — a 400-meter climb in elevation that stretches the season to about a month. And the town of Yoshino has kept bloom records since 1989.
Published 2026-06-11
Food & specialties7
- Food & specialties
Q.Why is Miwa the birthplace of Japanese somen noodles?
Hand-stretched somen is said to have been born in Miwa, in Sakurai City, Nara. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) "Traditional Foods of Japan" guide, more than 1,200 years ago the son of the chief priest of Omiwa Shrine in Miwa sowed wheat in this land well suited to its cultivation and turned the harvest into noodles — the beginning of somen. Miwa flourished as a post town in the Edo period, and the hand-stretching method is said to have spread to Banshu, Shodoshima, and Shimabara via pilgrims bound for Ise. In 2016, "Miwa Somen" became the 12th product registered under Japan's Geographical Indication (GI) system.
Published 2026-06-23
- Food & specialties
Q.Is Nara a persimmon powerhouse? Japan's No.2 for kaki
Yes. Nara ranks second in Japan for persimmon (kaki) harvest (2024 crop year, MAFF). Its 24,700 tons is about 15% of the national total; Wakayama is first at roughly 19%. Together these two prefectures account for about 34% of all persimmons grown in Japan.
Published 2026-06-23
- Food & specialties
Q.Is it true that Nara makes 90% of Japan's ink sticks?
Yes. According to the City of Nara's official site, Nara ink sticks account for about 90% of Japan's market for solid ink — nearly all the ink sticks made in Japan come from Nara (travel and craft media cite a higher reference figure of about 95%). Tradition holds that the priest Kukai brought the method back from Tang China and that ink was first made at Nitaibo, a hall of Kofuku-ji temple. On 7 November 2018 it was designated a national Traditional Craft. Yet producers have dwindled sharply: only about eight workshops can now handle the entire process.
Published 2026-06-23
- Food & specialties
Q.Are 90% of Japan's tea whisks really made in Nara?
Mostly yes. The tea whisk (chasen) used in the Japanese tea ceremony is made almost exclusively in Takayama, Ikoma City, Nara Prefecture — effectively the only production area in the country — and accounts for over 90% of domestically produced whisks. That said, cheap imports (largely from China) circulate widely, and by the volume actually used in Japan they make up about 70% of the market. The craft dates back roughly 500 years to the mid-Muromachi period, and was designated a National Traditional Craft on May 10, 1975.
Published 2026-06-23
- Food & specialties
Q.What is Yamato-cha? Is Nara a tea region too?
Yamato-cha is the collective name for green tea grown in northeastern Nara Prefecture, across the cool Yamato Highlands (roughly 200–600 m elevation). By tradition it dates to the year 806, when the monk Kukai is said to have brought tea seeds back from China to present-day Uda — over 1,200 years of history. Production is also nationally significant: in the most recent year all prefectures were surveyed (2020), Nara produced 1,490 tonnes of crude tea (about 2.1% of the national total), ranking 7th in Japan. Nara is very much a tea region.
Published 2026-06-23
- Food & specialties
Q.What is kakinoha-zushi, and why is it wrapped in persimmon leaves?
Kakinoha-zushi is a signature local dish of Nara (the Gojo and Yoshino areas): vinegared rice topped with a slice of salt-cured mackerel and other fish, each piece wrapped in a single astringent-persimmon leaf and pressed firm. The leaf is there for preservation — astringent persimmon leaves are rich in tannins (polyphenols) with anti-bacterial, anti-spoilage properties that, together with the vinegar in the rice, keep the mackerel fresh. It is mountain-village wisdom enjoyed since at least the mid-Edo period.
Published 2026-06-19
- Food & specialties
Q.Why is Yamatokoriyama known as the "Goldfish Town"?
It started in the Edo period as a side job for samurai of the local domain. Goldfish farming is said to have begun in 1724, when Yoshisato Yanagisawa moved to Yamatokoriyama from Kai Province — a history of about 300 years. The city remains one of Japan's leading producers: in 2019 it bred roughly 54 million goldfish, around 40% of the national output. The National Goldfish Scooping Championship, held since 1995, has become a symbol of the town.
Published 2026-06-19