Rural Nara Travel Guide

Sometimes people ask me which prefecture in Japan is my favorite.

I always say — Nara.

Maybe because every time I come here, I feel I’m seeing something most people don’t. While most travelers stop at Nara Park, the real soul of the prefecture lies far beyond — in what locals call "Oku Yamato" (奥大和), the inner, mountainous region of Nara.

It’s the southern and eastern part of the prefecture, stretching from Asuka, Japan’s first capital, through Gose and Uda, then down to Yoshino and Dorogawa, a hidden onsen village in the mountains.

This is the Nara I fell in love with — the one that hasn’t changed much since the 7th century, when emperors ruled from wooden halls surrounded by rice fields and rivers.

It’s the kind of place that helps you time-travel to ancient Japan.

Asuka is often called the birthplace of Japan. Over 1,400 years ago, it became the country’s first capital — long before Kyoto or Tokyo even existed.

During the 6th and 7th centuries, powerful clans like the Soga ruled from here. Its basin, surrounded by low mountains, made it ideal for palaces and temples while staying protected from invasion. At that time, Japan looked to China and Korea for inspiration — adopting writing, architecture, and Buddhist teachings.

Just an hour from Osaka, Asuka is perfect for both history lovers and nature seekers. You can even join a guided cycling tour — riding through rice fields, kofun tombs, and quiet village roads once walked by Japan’s first emperors.

The temple sits beside rice paddies where, in autumn, farmers harvest under the same sky their ancestors did.

Ishibutai Kofun (石舞台古墳) — a massive stone tomb believed to be the resting place of Soga no Umako, the statesman who helped bring Buddhism to Japan.
Built from 70-ton boulders with no cement, it’s breathtaking in its simplicity.

When we visited during the rain, the sound of water dripping through the stones made the place feel even more mysterious.

Saruishi (Monkey Stones) — Japan’s oldest stone carvings, mysterious figures softened by wind and rain. Some say they’re guardians, others think they marked sacred ground.

Their faces are faint and softened by centuries of wind and rain, but something is haunting about them — strange and human at once. I couldn’t stop staring into their eyes, as if by looking long enough, they might finally tell me their secrets.

You can rent one at Asuka Station or join Stephen Gill, an Asuka resident and Kyoto University lecturer who’s spent decades uncovering the town’s history. His tours blend stories, hidden paths, and local food stops that make the landscape come alive.

Don’t miss the Inabuchi Rice Terraces (稲渕の棚田) — among Japan’s most beautiful. Emerald in summer, golden in autumn, mirrored in spring — they change with the seasons.

Every September, locals hold the Kakashi Festival (かかし祭り), lining the fields with handmade scarecrows.

The paddies are protected through the Tanada Owner System (棚田オーナー制度), where participants can "adopt" a small rice-field plot, work alongside local farmers, and experience every step of cultivation — from seedling planting to harvest. It’s a beautiful model of community-led farming and rural cooperation that keeps the land alive and connected across generations.

Booking: Your Japan Discovery – Asuka Cycling Tour

Renovated with local Nara wood, it feels like forest bathing indoors — warm cedar scents, quiet air, and light filtering through shoji screens.

In the evening, we cooked a simple nabe hot pot using local vegetables. Later, we lit a bonfire in the garden, wrapped in blankets under the autumn sky. The air smelled of wood smoke and fallen leaves, and the stars felt impossibly close.

You can also try an onigiri (rice ball) cooking experience using freshly harvested rice from the local fields in Asuka — a taste I still can’t forget.

Find more about things to do in Asuka in my other article.

From Kyoto Station, take the Kintetsu Limited Express to Yamato-Yagi, then transfer to the Yoshino Line to Asuka Station (around 90 minutes).

Heading north from Asuka, you’ll find Gose (御所市) — a small town of clear rivers and quiet workshops.

Once a merchant town connecting Nara to Mount Koya, it’s now known for its tofu and soy sauce — simple, humble, and made with pride.

Each morning begins with the sound of steam and the scent of freshly ground soybeans. They use Kyushu-grown "Fukuyutaka" soybeans, natural nigari, and local water to create tofu that’s soft, rich, and alive with flavor.

Their most beloved item is the Zaru Tofu (ざる豆腐) — a creamy, soft style served in a small bamboo strainer, eaten simply with salt or Kata-Kami soy sauce. They also make tofu donuts, a light snack blending tofu, okara (soy pulp), and soy milk — crisp on the outside, softly chewy inside.

If you want to experience their tofu in a more personal way, you can book a special lunch experience in the cozy dining space above the factory. The meal includes freshly made tofu, yuba, and other soy-based side dishes prepared with the same ingredients made downstairs that morning.

That’s Kata-Kami Shoyu (片上醤油), a family brewery that’s been making soy sauce the same way for over a century through natural fermentation (天然醸造) in giant cedar barrels.

They use Nara-grown soybeans — extremely rare, since most soy sauce relies on Hokkaido or imported beans. Each batch is fermented slowly, aged in wooden barrels that breathe with the seasons.

You can also book their special guided tour to try mixing the fermenting soy mash yourself in one of the enormous barrels — a rare and humbling experience that lets you feel the hard process of making soy sauce so you can appreciate it more.

At the end, you can taste different types of soy sauce created here — and interestingly, each type of shoyu is for different foods: a stronger flavor for meat sauces, a milder one for sashimi, and a slightly more balanced one for everyday cooking.

If you’re coming directly from Osaka-Abenobashi Station, take the Kintetsu Line to Gose Station — about 55 minutes. From there, most places like Umemoto Tofu Shop and Kata-Kami Soy Sauce are a short taxi ride or a pleasant 15−20 minute walk through quiet residential streets surrounded by fields and low hills.

Between Yoshino and Dorogawa lies Uda (宇陀市) — a small castle town surrounded by clear mountain water. Once a thriving post town along the old Ise Road, Uda is filled with preserved Edo-period streets, merchant houses, and storehouses that echo with quiet history.

Founded in 1718, Kubo-honke Sake Brewery (久保本家酒造) has been making sake for over 300 years using the soft, mineral-rich waters of the Uda basin.

Here we sampled a variety of sake — from smooth junmai (pure rice sake) to rich kimoto (traditional-style brew) — and had lunch in the brewery’s small restaurant, where each dish was carefully paired with a matching sake.

Just a short walk away, Uda’s Matsuyama Old Town invites slow exploration — white-walled storehouses, nostalgic shops, and narrow alleys leading to small temples. It’s an ideal stop between Yoshino and Dorogawa if you want to experience another side of deep Nara that few people ever see.

From Osaka-Abenobashi Station, take the Kintetsu Limited Express or Express on the Osaka Line directly to Haibara — around 1 hr 15 min — then continue by bus or taxi.

From Gose, the train winds along quiet rivers and cedar forests until you reach Shimoichi (下市町) — a small merchant town at the foot of Yoshino’s sacred mountains. Since the Muromachi period (1392−1573), Shimoichi has thrived as a trading hub for Yoshino cedar and cypress, prized materials used to build temples and tea houses across Kyoto and Osaka. Surrounded by clean mountain streams, locals also began fermenting river fish with rice, creating narezushi — the ancestor of all sushi.

The current three-story wooden building, rebuilt in 1939, keeps its quiet charm — tatami rooms and a small garden.

Their specialty is ayu sushi (sweetfish sushi), made from local river fish wrapped in rice and persimmon leaves, then slowly fermented to develop its deep, tangy sweetness.

Legend says it was so loved that it appeared in the kabuki play "Yoshitsune Senbon Zakura", preserving its legacy in Japanese culture. Reservations are essential, and in winter, the old house can be chilly — so bring warm socks and enjoy the slow meal.

From there, it’s a 15-minute walk or a short taxi ride to the restaurant and old town area.

South of Shimoichi lies Yoshino (吉野), a town with misty cedar forests and sacred peaks. For over 1,300 years, Yoshino has been a spiritual heart of Japan — home to Kinpusen-ji Temple (金峯山寺) and the mountain monks known as Yamabushi (山伏), the practitioners of Shugendo (修験道).

Shugendo, literally "the path of training and testing," blends Buddhist, Shinto, Taoist, and mountain-worship traditions. Its followers believe that by entering the mountains and enduring their trials, one can awaken inner strength and harmony with nature.

Fluent in Japanese, English, and German, he bridges ancient practice and modern understanding, sharing insights few outsiders ever encounter.

After a short prayer rite for safe travel, participants drive to Kinpu Shrine, one of Yoshino’s holiest sites. From there, you follow an old pilgrimage route once used by Yamabushi monks, climbing through cedar forests toward Hokaku-ji Temple, a secluded sanctuary deep in the mountains.

Even in a few hours, you begin to sense the weight of centuries — the same hardships the Yamabushi still endure each year as they climb these sacred peaks.

The Yoshino Ropeway sometimes stops for maintenance in winter — check the official site before your trip.

From Osaka-Abenobashi Station, take the Kintetsu Limited Express toward Yoshino and get off at Yoshino Station (吉野駅) — the final stop.

Beyond Yoshino, the road narrows and climbs deeper into the mountains.
Misty cedars rise like pillars, and small rivers trace the curves of the valley until you arrive at Dorogawa Onsen (洞川温泉) — a quiet hot spring village that feels frozen in time.

For centuries, this has been the gateway to Mount Omine, the sacred training ground of the Yamabushi monks. Before beginning their ascetic practice, practitioners of Shugendo would come here to purify their bodies and minds in the mineral-rich hot springs.

The village is lined with wooden ryokan, paper lanterns, and small shops selling local tofu, mountain vegetables, and charcoal-grilled ayu.

As the flames rise and the priests chant, you can feel the ceremony’s purifying energy — the same kind of spiritual cleansing the Yamabushi have sought here for centuries. It’s a moving, almost otherworldly experience that connects you to the heart of mountain faith.

If solo travel feels daunting, local guides offer small-group tours that follow the same scenic routes, sharing stories of ancient Japan as the train glides through the countryside.