NARAMACHI
- José Carlos Gómez Delgado
- Jan 16, 2016
- 2 min read
Naramachi, which literally means "City of Nara" is one of the quintessential tourist spots of Nara and its most famous neighborhood. A short distance from Nara Park, complements the nature and temples of this with an example of Japanese traditional neighborhood. In this area can still be found many machiya or traditional Japanese wooden houses dating from the Edo Period. Normally, the shop was located at the bottom while home was upstairs. This comercial district has remained until today, using many of these houses as museums, restaurants, cafes, souvenir shops ... Many of these old houses have a very narrow facade, since in Edo period the greater the facade the higher the taxes to pay. Thus, many of the houses were built in depth.
But the interest of Naramachi is not only so far in the past, because this neighborhood has always been full of life since then, and the style of the buildings has been changing according to the times. Thus, we also find examples of architecture from different decades of the last century and some shops (hairdressers, bathrooms, bars ...) do not seem to have changed since then.
Besides a relaxing walk in its pretty and labyrinthine streets full of temples and cafes, there are several main touristic spots to visit in Naramachi.
Among the museums should be noted the Naramachi Shyriokan, focused on the history of the district and monkeys "Migawari-Zaru," which can be seen hanging on the facades of many buildings with the function to scare off bad luck. The Naramachi Museum of Mechanic Toys is at the same time an interesting and fun place, where you can tinker with toys of Edo period for free. Perfect to go with kids ... without them too. Finally, Naramachi Lattice House is a traditional house perfectly preserved at which you can enter for free. Just keep in mind that everything usually closes at around 5 pm.
Perhaps the most important place throughout the history of Naramachi is the Unesco World Heritage Gangoji temple, one of the most important in Japan during the Nara Period. Apart from this main temple, the area abounds of temples and shrines to those worth checking out as a small tourist route.
Also similar to a museum, but something more playful, Seibei Shop Imanishi sake brewery (Harushika), offers a tasting of several types of sake (the number varies depending on time of year) accompanied by Japanese pickles.
How about a coffee to recharge before you go or to recover after Naramachi? 36 coffee workshop is in a perfect location and offers the right atmosphere for a relaxing moment. It is located at the gates of Naramachi, in a quiet lane off the Mochiidono shopping arcade. Also, if you're staying at our hostel you have a substantial discount on all drinks.
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