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under an hour by train from the major
cities of osaka and kyoto
nara prefecture was where the early
emperors of japan established their
capitals
and can be considered to be where
japanese civilization began
the prefecture contains many of japan's
oldest tombs
shrines and temples as well as a number
of sacred mountains and their
accompanying towns
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my name is rayna ong staff writer for
japanguide.com
and in this video we'll be going on an
overnight trip to a sacred mountain
getting a look at a couple of dishes
unique to the prefecture
and visiting a historic and quaint
merchant town
follow along as we go on an overnight
trip to mount yoshino
and the traditional town of imaicho
day one
our trip begins at the kinde osaka
abenobashi station
where we'll board the blue symphony
limited express train which will take us
to yoshino station
from there we take the ropeway up to the
bus stop to take the bus to the start of
our walk in the middle of the mountain
we'll have lunch in a park along the way
before getting to the town center on
mount yoshino
there we'll visit the shrine as well as
learn more about the local specialties
before ending the day at our
accommodation for the night
operated by quintet railway the blue
symphony limited express train provides
a comfortable ride between central osaka
and mount
yoshino in addition to enjoying the
countryside scenery
passengers can also indulge in local
food and drink on board the blue
symphony
and i ordered a tasting flight of
yoshino sake to kickstart my trip
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mount yoshino or yoshinoyama is one of
the best places in japan to see cherry
blossoms in spring
it is also a sacred mountain and an
important center of mountain worship
a number of walking trails crisscross
the mountain and are popularly used
during the cherry blossom and autumn
colour seasons by visitors to see the
flora up close
upon arrival at yoshino station i pick
up a sushi banter for lunch later
before taking the bus to the start of my
walk on the mountain
this walk is relatively easy taking
about two hours at a leisurely pace and
can be done by anyone with an average
fitness level
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i walk from the bus stop down towards
the gorobe taya ruins
where i will stop for a break and lunch
this relatively large park area offers
nice views of the small valley below
and is a popular spot for visitors to
take a breather and enjoy the
surrounding scenery
for lunch i'll be having a kakinohazushi
bento
nara is a landlocked prefecture and
before the invention of refrigerators
and cooling appliances
fresh fish like salmon and mackerel from
the coastal regions
were typically cured in salt and then
transported in lynn
in the mountainous region of sadanara
where yoshino is located
it was common to use persimmon leaves to
wrap these protein-rich preserved fish
together with vinegar rice to further
prolong their shelf life
each piece of sushi is about one or two
bites and eating kakinahasashi is as
simple as opening the leaf
and eating the sushi inside please don't
eat the leaf you can if you want to but
it might leave a bad taste
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tadakimasu
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after lunch it is time to continue my
walk down through the town that
stretches along the mountain slope
this town is where kim busanji one of
the most important temples in the
mountain worship religion
is located as well as other affiliated
temples
and it developed over the centuries
catering to the pilgrims and tourists
who visited
i visit yoshimizu shrine which has a
celebrated view
and an interesting past yoshimizu shrine
was originally a highly regarded temple
abode for the priests of kimbu senji
temple
it was converted to a shrine during the
meiji period when buddhism and shinto
were separated
as a temple it accommodated several
prominent historical figures over the
century
three most important are minamoto
yoshitsune
who sheltered there in the 12th century
after fleeing from his brother
emperor godaigo who used the temple as
his palace for some time during the 14th
century
when japan had two rivaling imperial
courts and toyotomi hideyoshi
who hosted large-scale cherry blossom
viewing parties there
in the 16th century today yoshimizu
shrine is one of the sites in yoshino
that have been designated unesco world
heritage
inside visitors can see the oldest show
in style architecture
as well as several other treasures
relating to the three important figures
who stayed
there
this view behind me over here is the
legendary hitomi senbon which means a
thousand trees in one look
now in spring the cherry trees that grow
on the mountain site turn the entire
area pink and it's beautiful
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from the shrine i continue down the town
this time passing more restaurants and
souvenir shops
one of the items that catches my eyes is
the kuzu ingredient
that seems to be available at almost all
food shops
the ingredient is used to produce a
variety of products
and i was curious to see what it was all
about i head to nakaishimpudo
a local cruiser specialist and where
demonstration of preparing the
ingredients can sometimes be seen from
the shop window
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kuzu is japanese arrowroot which grows
in abundance in japan
the starji root is pounded mixed with
water
and the mixture then dried resulting in
the fine white powder known as hon kuzu
it is said that one kilogram of kooza
root only yields 100 grams of hon cousin
powder
this fine white powder can then be
combined again with water
to create a gelatinous mixture which is
then used to make a variety of products
like kooza noodles
and cook the sweets
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or simply mixed with sugar and water to
make a viscous drink that is good for
health
this is like perfect food to eat when
you're sick
my walk through the town ends when i
arrive at my accommodation for the night
the only things left to do today are to
relax and have dinner before going to
bed
just about to have dinner back in my
accommodation and we have
a wide variety of seasonal vegetables as
well as sesame tofu made with kuzu
and kuzu noodles in the hot pot can't
wait to start
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day two we take
the rope way down the mountain to
yoshino station from where we'll take
the train to yamato yagi station
transferring once at kashihara jingu
maya station
it's about a 10 minute walk from the
train station to the town of imajo
there we'll explore the former merchant
town visit
osaka brewery and the oldest residents
in the town before heading home
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after breakfast i take one of japan's
oldest ropeways which started operations
almost a century ago
back down to yoshino station at the foot
of the mountain to catch the train to my
next destination
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imai joe has its roots first as a temple
town then flourished as a merchant town
and many of its inhabitants grew to be
wealthy
historic preserved town contains a mix
of residences and a number of historic
and cultural properties
and the oldest one dates back to the mid
17th century
some of the buildings have been
converted into community spaces and
businesses
while some can only be viewed from the
outside a small number can be entered
for a fee
as one walks through the narrow streets
of imaitro it is not difficult to be
transported back to the past
as old preserved buildings add to the
historic atmosphere
i start my exploration of imajo at the
kawaii residence in sake brewery
you can tell this is the sake brewery by
the cedar balls that hang outside the
house
now i'm going to go inside and take a
look and let's go
the beautifully preserved two-story main
building is from the mid-18th century
and all sake brewing tools are displayed
in the residence
the brewery still remains in operation
and visitors can buy sake here
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continuing my tour of imagio i walk down
one of the main streets to the imanishi
residence
which is the oldest preserved building
in my
constructed in 1650 this large residence
allows visitors to see the interior of
the wealthy imanishi family
who acted as the town's administrators
the imanishi family used to be the
city's administrators and i'm standing
in their family home right now
this huge space that you can see around
me was used as a courtroom
a prison and a police station
lunch is next and i go to a restaurant
house in a converted shop house a few
doors down
the shop house is traditionally
decorated and offers a nice relaxed
atmosphere for a meal or a break
i order one of the lunch sets that has
soba and kakinohazushi
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after lunch i check out the rest of the
town strolling down the narrow streets
and enjoying the atmosphere of being in
a quaint
town before making my way back to yamato
yagi station slowly
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and that was our overnight trip to
yoshinoyama in the traditional town of
imaijo
thanks for joining me i hope this video
has been enjoyable
and perhaps even inspire some ideas
should you decide to plan an overnight
trip in japan
for more information about this trip or
to watch another video
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happy travels
you