The name “Higashimuki Shotengai” means “east-facing shopping arcade“.
Gyoki Square in front of Nara Station on the Kintetsu Line is a well-known meeting place in Nara.
Past this square is the Higashimukai Shotengai, an arcaded shopping street that is representative of the old part of Nara City.
The shopping street is lined with long-established stores selling popular okonomiyaki (Japanese Pizza), Japanese sweets, and “tenugui” hand towels made using traditional techniques, and is a place where you can feel the “spirit of hospitality” of Nara.
It is close to Kofukuji Temple and Nara Park, both World Heritage sites known for their five-story pagodas, and is a great place to visit in between temple tours.
Nara Travelers want to know About higashimuki
1. Location
The Higashimukai Shotengai is located in front of Nara Station on the Kintetsu Line.
Passing through the east ticket gate of Kintetsu Nara Station, you will exit the underground level toward the Nara Prefectural Government Office (Todaiji Temple) and come out to the ground level, where you will find the plaza as shown in the figure below.
The square is called “Gyoki Square,” with a conical fountain and a standing monk of the Nara Period named Gyoki, and is a popular meeting place.
The “Higashimukai shopping street” is a north-south shopping street that runs from Nobori-oji in front of Kintetsu Nara Station to Sanjo-dori.
The name “Higashimuki” is derived from the fact that originally, buildings were built on the west side of the street, with all buildings facing east toward Kofukuji Temple. Incidentally, the statue of Gyoki in Gyoki Plaza stands facing the Great Buddha Hall of Todaiji Temple.
2. History
Higashimuki Shotengai was the site of the Heijo-kyo Capital 1,300 years ago, and because the Kofukuji temple complex stood to the east, people lived only on the west side of the street, with all houses facing east.
This is the origin of the name of the town of Higashimuki.
In 1914, when the Osaka Electric Railway began service between Osaka and Nara, Higashimuki became the terminus of the railway line, and the station was renamed Nara Station.
3. Restaurant and Shops
- ”Okaru”, a long-established okonomiyaki restaurant
“Okaru” is a recommended restaurant in the Higashimukai shopping district.
It is a long-established okonomiyaki restaurant with a good reputation among the locals.
It is located just around the corner from Gyoki Plaza.
The retro storefront gives off the warmth of wood.
The restaurant is so popular that there is a line of customers waiting in line at lunch time.
The most popular menu item is, by far, the okonomiyaki.
Not only is it fluffy and delicious, but it is also hearty and popular among students, businessmen, and office workers of all ages and genders.
Akashiyaki is also delicious and highly recommended.
It comes in regular size, but there is also a menu item called “Special Okaruyaki.
In addition to the familiar ingredients such as squid, shrimp, octopus, scallops, wild vegetables, oysters, and pork loin, it also uses beefsteak, two head shrimps, and a whopping five eggs.
The okonomiyaki and Akashiyaki are very attractive, but the yakisoba set meal is also popular among regulars.
It goes great with beer!
Staff members support cooking.
After putting a lid over the yakisoba to steam it, the staff member quickly moves to another table.
While we were wondering what we should do with the lid covered in front of us, the same staff member comes back again, opens the lid, and checks the level of cooking.
The timing of their return to the table is absolutely perfect.
Only one person manages to cook for several tables, it is like a performance.
The yakisoba tastes exceptional as well.
<Basic Information>
Address: 13, Higashimuki Minamimachi, Nara City, Nara Prefecture
Access: 3 minutes walk from “Nara Station” of Kintetsu Line
- ”Nakatani-Do” with its “high-speed rice-cake pounding
“Aye!” Yeah! Yeah! Yah!” Ya! The next recommendation is “Nakatani-Do”, known for its “high-speed rice-cake pounding.
Many of you may be familiar with “Nakatani-Do”, as it has been featured on TV and in the media.
The craftsmen pound rice cakes with their faces bright red and their voices full of enthusiasm. You can feel the power of the work.
What is surprising is the speed.
The speed is blindingly fast. The combination of the pusher and the turner was simply overwhelming.
The craftsmen were working in perfect unison, and many tourists were surrounding them.
This “high-speed rice cake pounding” is not a performance but a traditional technique that has been handed down over generations.
The rice is pounded at once, without missing the moment when the rice is hot enough to create steam, resulting in soft, sticky, and firm rice cakes.
Nakataniya’s specialty is Yomogi Mochi (mugwort rice cake).
It is very soft and has just the right amount of stickiness and firmness, and the flavor of mugwort is exquisite.
<Basic Information>
Address: 29 Hashimoto-cho, Nara City, Nara Prefecture
Access: 4 minutes walk from “Nara Station” of Kintetsu Line
- ”Akemitori”, tenugui, Japanese traditional towel shop
Finally, we would like to introduce “Akemitori”.
This store is a tenugui towel shop.
You will be amazed at the delicate and beautiful designs.
The designs of Nara’s festivals, the five-story pagoda of Kofukuji Temple, the statue of Niou, the town of Nara, the torchlight at Nigatsudo, deer, etc., are very cute.
The designs are drafted by hand, not on a computer.
In addition, the tenugui of Vermilion Bird are colorfully dyed on traditional Japanese sarashi (cotton cloth) using a technique called “chusen” (pouring dye).
This traditional technique dates back to the Asuka and Nara periods and was originally introduced from China.
Dyed fabrics using this technique can be seen in the Shosoin Repository at Todaiji Temple, where this more than 1,300-year-old tradition has been handed down to the present.
<Basic Information>
Address: 1 Hashimoto-cho, Nara City, Nara Prefecture
Access: 5 min. walk from “Nara Station” of Kintetsu Line
Summary
Today we introduced “Higashimuki Shotengai” in Nara.
There are wide variety of restaurants, café and souvenir shops.
If you visit Nara, we recommend walking through the shopping arcade.
