ASUKA-MURA

​While traveling in Nara prefecture, I discovered a place along the road that turned out to be much more interesting and worth visiting than I had anticipated. Since the beginning of this small road-trip, driving through the countryside of Nara has been a real pleasure along beautiful lush rice fields and blooming cherry blossoms. But there’s one special place that really caught my attention!

When I returned from my visits, I found myself driving through a lovely valley that was especially stunning in the warm sunset colors. I stumbled upon this little village with a lot of these beautiful traditional Japanese houses, surrounded by beautiful rice fields and lush hills, giving it a tucked-away feel. Even though I've passed by this place several times how could I've never spotted this place before? I hadn’t intended to stop when I was planning my trip, but now I’m definitely looking forward to coming back the next day before heading back to Tokyo!

I realized after some research that it's not just any random village; it’s actually Asuka!  Which gave its name to the Asuka-era taking place from the 6th to the 8th centuries. During this period, Korea significantly influenced Japan through diplomatic and cultural exchanges. This influence include among other things, the introduction of Buddhism, which in Japan at that time still retained many aspects and traditions from the Buddhism practiced in Korea. This era is considered to be a foundational era for Japan as we know it today.

Asuka is the birthplace of the Man'yō culture and home to the Manyōshū, one of Japan's most famous and celebrated poetry anthologies. There is a museum dedicated to this rich cultural heritage. This area has also been significant for various political figures from that era, and tumuli, known as kofun, have been constructed for some of them after their deaths.

The Asuka-dera is a small and discreet temple that you might easily overlook (like I did tbh). Despite its modest appearance, it is actually the oldest known temple in Japan and houses the country's oldest bronze Buddha statue. According to historians the temple was built around 588 CE. Originally, it was much larger but during the 8th century, when Nara became the official capital of Japan,  a lot of it was relocated there on an another temple site known as Gangō-ji.

I’m really glad to have discovered such a beautiful and historically significant place. Especially the Inabuchi terraced rice fields, the Amakashi no Oka observatory, the Niimasu Shrine and the surrounding hamlets. By the time I explored these sights, the afternoon was almost over. The area isn’t very big but you can easily spend a day or more visiting everything on foot or by bicycle at a slower pace. If I hadn’t needed to return to Tokyo that evening, I definitely would have stayed a bit longer!