Today's post was kindly contributed by Chris Willett, a recent visitor to Japan who took a day trip out on Course C of NARA Visitor Center & Inn's "Experience Nara Bus Tours". He enjoyed it so much that he wrote a blog post for us, offering to share his memories with our readers from his adventure down in Miwa and Asuka.
So once again, thank you Chris and we look forward to seeing you again next year!
On my recent trip to Japan, I was made aware that there were several different tours of the Nara area available from the NARA Visitor Center & Inn. The most appealing option to me was the “Most Ancient Japan in Miwa and Asuka” Tour, as it seemed to feature a little bit of everything Nara had to offer. Since the tour was within my budget, I signed up for it on Friday (6/10/16). Overall, the tour was excellent, and completely matched the description provided in the tour brochure. Our tour guide, Sato-san, began the tour by introducing herself and our driver, and then laid out the tour’s itinerary for the day.
Our tour consisted of a visit to Asuka village in the morning, followed by a trip to the Omiwa shrine after lunch, and finally, sake tasting at the Imanishi Sake Brewery. Sato-san was very knowledgeable about Nara in general, and offered interesting pieces of information about the various sites along our tour route. For example, I learned the difference between the Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines (the torii gates indicate a shrine). Also, I learned the significance of the “cedar ball” as it relates to sake production. Thankfully for myself and the other tour group members, Sato-san’s English was excellent, and we had no difficulty understanding her.
The tour van drove the group out to Asuka Village, roughly 1 hour away from the Nara Visitor’s Center. We were taken to a scenic location for a walk among the rice fields and rustic houses nestled in the beautiful mountains. As we walked through the village and took pictures of the stunning scenery, Sato-san discussed the various crops cultivated in this part of Nara, rice in particular. After our walk through the village, the group piled into the van, and we were driven to a restaurant specializing in produce grown locally in Asuka. The first event scheduled at the restaurant was a demonstration-lesson of salad dressing preparation. The chef walked us through the dressing prep, and noted that the blueberries and strawberries used in the dressing were locally grown in Asuka. The strawberry species was called the “Asuka Ruby”. Lunch was provided by the restaurant, and featured produce grown locally in Asuka.
Overall, lunch was exquisite, and we got to taste our freshly made salad dressing (DELICIOUS!)
Our next stop on the tour was the Omiwa Shrine.
Sato-san led us through the shrine and gave the group cool details about various spots in the shrine.
We moved upward through the shrine and came to an amazing viewing spot at the top. The views from the top of Omiwa were incredible, and I was glad Sato-san brought us there. The expansive view of Nara was, without a doubt, my favorite part of the tour.
The last stop on the tour was the Imanishi Sake Brewery, which we learned had been brewing sake since 1660. We were given a thorough tour of the facility and production equipment, with Sato-san acting as an interpreter for the brewery staff. They described the intricacies of sake production to our group and explained how rice is turned into Japan’s famous drink. I learned quite a lot during the facility tour, and was honored to have the opportunity. The tour was concluded with a sake tasting session. Several different kinds of Imanishi sake were provided for us, in addition to a description of each blends’ specific traits. The sake tasting was educational, fun, and my second favorite part of the tour.
Overall, the “Most Ancient Japan in Miwa and Asuka” tour was spectacular. Each stop along the tour was full of fun and interesting moments, none of which were dull. Even though this was my first visit to Japan, I really enjoyed this tour because of the itinerary’s variety. It allowed me the opportunity to see a side of Japan that would have otherwise been missed during my stay, and I highly recommend it to any visitors to Nara.