Kakinoha zushi
Salted fish on rice, wrapped in a persimmon leaf. It comes from how an inland region preserved fish.
Regional food guide
What to eat in Nara
Written by hand, not generated. Dishes, markets, timing and prices for Nara.
Ancient temples and shrines sit in the middle of the city, and around them survive preserved foods — pickles, dried somen, pressed sushi. Restaurants close early here, so a common plan is to eat in Nara by day and take dinner in Osaka or Kyoto.
What people eat here
Start with the local defaults
Chagayu
A thin rice porridge cooked with roasted tea, descended from temple breakfasts.
Miwa
Somen
Very fine dried wheat noodles, served chilled in summer and in hot broth in winter.
Narazuke
Vegetables pickled long in sake lees — strongly aromatic.
Kuzumochi
A translucent cake of arrowroot starch, eaten with soy flour and dark syrup.
Where the food is
Markets, streets and harbours
Higashimuki Arcade
The covered shopping street between the station and the park.
Restaurants nearby
Mochiidono Center Street
A 250 m arcade continuing south from Higashimuki across Sanjo-dori, said to be the oldest shopping street in Nara with trade dating back to the Nara period. Old confectioners and diners sit among cafes, and it reaches the edge of Naramachi.
Restaurants nearby
Miwa
The somen producing district, with noodle makers and restaurants side by side.
Restaurants nearby
Yoshino
The approach up Mount Yoshino, famous for cherry blossoms, is the home ground of persimmon-leaf sushi and kuzu mochi. The sushi began as an Edo-period way of preserving salted mackerel in persimmon leaves along the Yoshino River, and the area is also the source of kuzu starch sweets.
Restaurants nearbyWhen to go
- A great many restaurants close early in the evening. Check hours before planning dinner here.
- The area around the park is very crowded in cherry blossom and autumn colour seasons.
- Somen is generally served cold in summer and hot in winter.
Worth knowing
- 1The deer in the park go for food in your hands. Do not walk around holding it.
- 2Kakinoha zushi travels well in its leaf wrapping. The leaf is not eaten.
- 3Osaka and Kyoto are both about forty minutes away by train, which makes a day trip easy.
- 4Narazuke is pungent and divisive. For a gift, choose a small pack.
What it costs · Per person, roughly
Six pieces of kakinoha zushi run JPY 1,000-1,500, a chagayu set JPY 1,500-2,500, and somen JPY 800-1,200.
Nara
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