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Imai Town

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4.6 (36)

1 Chome-10 Imaicho, Kashihara, Nara 634-0812, Japan

Quaint Edo-period town & samurai movie location lined with traditional merchant houses & shops.

hourglassDuration: 01h00min

outdoor
outdoor
free
free
daytime
daytime
traditional
traditional
food
food
cafes
cafes
shops
shops

googlereview(s)

4.6
36 review(s)
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Omiya-fankichi kobe 2 weeks ago

It's a wonderful group of buildings that will make you feel like you've traveled back in time to the Edo period.There are more shops than you expected, making it an interesting place.If you're looking for a meal, you'll probably need at least 2 hours there.

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宮モンスター 8 months ago

I went to the popular tourist spot "Imaimachi" in Kashihara City👾 . The original model was Jinaimachi during the Sengoku period, and there are about 500 traditional buildings out of a total of about 1,500 buildings👾 . It has the highest number of traditional buildings in the country and has been selected as a nationally important preservation district for groups of traditional buildings. . It has become a filming location for dramas and movies, and there are many shops in the town, so it is crowded with many people on weekends 👾 . I remember wearing a green jersey on the way home from school and buying food at the local bakery.

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Aki o24o 9 months ago

About 15 minutes walk from Kintetsu Yamatoyagi Station Immediately after exiting the station ticket gate, turn right and go straight south through the shopping street. Go past the supermarket, past the bank and post office, and then go through the JR guard. At the traffic light, turn right at the corner, cross the railroad crossing, and go further until you reach the Asuka River Bridge. That is Subu Bridge, whose landmark is the red railing. Once you cross it, Imai-cho is already in front of you. The embankments on both sides of the Asuka River are lined with cherry blossom trees that extend for kilometers. the season is spectacular It's a hidden spot Yamatoyagi Station is a limited express stop, and there are also limited express trains that run directly from Kyoto and Osaka Namba. There is also a station called Yagi Nishiguchi Station, which is the next station on the Kintetsu Kashihara Line and only stops at each stop, and it is about a 10 minute walk from there, so it is definitely the closest station, but it is about 300 meters away. Therefore, it may be faster to walk from Yamato Yagi Station rather than transfer. It's about a 10 minute walk from JR Unebi Station, but I can't recommend it. There are only about 2 trains per hour at this JR station, and there are no direct trains from Kyoto or Osaka, so you have to change trains at Nara Station or Oji Station, so it takes a lot of time. Therefore, most tourists use Kintetsu. However, if you are visiting Imai-cho while sightseeing in Horyu-ji Temple or Nara, you may be able to use this JR station. There are bus and taxi stops at the rotary on the south side of Kintetsu Yamato-Yagi Station. It is easy to head to Imai Town from here. Get off the bus at the nearby Medical University Hospital bus stop and walk for about 5 minutes. There are many trains every 10 minutes. You can also use Suica on the bus. You can take the airport limousine bus from Kansai International Airport to Yamato Yagi Station in 1 hour. I think this is the shortest distance from Tokyo. There is no airport bus from Itami. There is a parking lot There is an "Imai-cho Nishikan moat plaza parking lot" behind Hanao and another on the west side of Imai-cho. The roads in Imai-cho are very narrow and you can't get through it even if you are driving, so please take the wide road with one lane in each direction next to Hanao (Kayo) or take a detour from National Route 166. In recent years, it has been developed and there are restaurants and general stores scattered about, but there is almost no tourism development. The townscape remains in its entirety, a few hundred meters square, and looks much the same as it did during the Edo period. There are places like this in other places as well, but I think this is the only active residential area in all of Japan where an entire town has been preserved as a block and people still live there. On weekdays, it's quiet and there's no one on the street except for the occasional resident walking around. So, if you come to the area with the image of a tourist-developed area with lots of souvenir shops and restaurants, like Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto or Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine in Kamakura, you will probably be disappointed. In the first place, there are no restaurants where you can eat while walking. It is completely unknown to inbound tourists and you won't see a single foreigner. There are no information boards in English. In fact, it is not well known even to Japanese people. An old Western-style building that was originally the Imai Town Hall has now become a tourist hub called Hanairaka. There are a few exhibits where you can learn about Imai Town. There is also a shop that has been converted into an old house and has tourist information about Imai Town. Please also note that the city is surrounded by a moat. The town was once so prosperous that it was said that 70% of Yamato's wealth was concentrated here, and was said to be Sakai by the sea and Imai by the land. It seems that they have set up a ring of moats to protect themselves because their wealth is being targeted. Like Sakai, autonomy was apparently recognized. There are several reproductions of the remains of the moat scattered around. The basics of sightseeing here are strolling through the streets of Imai-cho, which makes you feel as if you have traveled back in time, and visiting the scattered shops and restaurants. Recently, this townscape has attracted attention and seems to have been used as a filming location for movies. From here, Kashihara Shrine and Emperor Jimmu's Mausoleum are just to the north. It's about 5 minutes by car Beyond that is Asuka. It's about 20 minutes by car Yoshino is far beyond that. About 1 hour by train from Kintetsu Kashihara-Jingu Station The Fujiwara Palace ruins are also about 5 minutes by car to the east. Taika Kaishin's Tanzan Shrine is located further east in the mountains and takes 30 minutes by car. Hasedera Temple, famous as a temple of flowers since ancient times, is a 30-minute train ride from Yamato Yagi Station, and the nearest station is Hasedera Station. Iruka Shrine, which enshrines Soga Iruka, is about a 10-minute walk to the west. Unfortunately, there are no regular sightseeing buses that tour these areas. Personally, I recommend it at dusk. If you look at the sight of Mt. Nijo becoming a black silhouette against the sunset sky from the direction heading west of Imai-cho, you will feel like you are in a movie. Every year, a sightseeing event called "Imaimachi Townscape Walk" is held from the second Saturday to the third Sunday after Golden Week in May. In particular, on the third and final Sunday of the festival, there are many events such as the ``Tea Parade'', a parade of artists such as Munehisa Imai dressed in costumes from the Azuchi-Momoyama period. The season is nice, so if you are thinking of sightseeing in Imai Town, I think it would be a good idea to visit during this "Imai Town Street Walk" period.

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108 ban 11 months ago

As of March 2023, there are 126 nationally designated Important Traditional Building Preservation Districts, but only two of them are classified as Terauchi Town or Zaigo Town, and Imai Town is one of them. Masu. The townscape preservation movement was launched quite early in the 1950s, and as a result of proactive efforts to preserve the landscape, not only preserving buildings with historical value, but also beautifying roads and putting electrical cables underground. Today, much of the town still retains strong traces of its pre-modern days. Although it is located near the center of Kashihara City, a central city in the southern part of the Nara Basin and is a key transportation hub with a concentration of Kintetsu and JR stations, it has not been swallowed up by the waves of modernization and has retained this much of its townscape. It is truly miraculous, and the efforts of the volunteers who worked hard to preserve it are remembered. With an area of ​​17.4 hectares, it is relatively large for a hometown town, and you will probably need at least a few hours to walk around it. There are many things to see, such as buildings designated as national and local cultural properties and traces of a moated city, but it is a very beautiful town that even the small alleys with nothing in them can be picturesque.

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習い事オンライン教室 2 years ago

Imai Town has been a town in Yamatokuni Takaichi District since 1679. Part of current Kashihara City. This town, which once flourished as a temple town, still has a beautiful old townscape that looks like the set of a historical drama. The streets lined with beautiful Japanese houses are very photogenic. There are also stylish cafes, making it a very fun place to walk around.