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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/rcecap on 2025-07-20 16:10:08+00:00.
I just spent a day exploring Asuka (from Nara), and honestly, I’m still processing how incredible it was. It’s definitely not on the standard tourist radar—I didn’t see a single Western visitor all day. Most people I saw were Japanese tourists, plus a handful of Asian visitors.
If you’re into scenic rural landscapes and history/archaeology, Asuka is an amazing hidden gem I’d absolutely recommend. Not touristy, incredibly scenic and peaceful, with lots of history and archaeology.
Asuka is considered the birthplace of Japanese civilization— its first capital, where early centralized political structures, Buddhism, and cultural influences from China and Korea took root, and where the country name Nihon (日本) was first adopted.
I mainly went to check out the ancient historical and archaeological sites, but what surprised me was how scenic and peaceful the whole area is. I spent the day e-biking through terraced rice fields (along with bamboo groves and cosmos fields in bloom) and narrow village streets, all surrounded by mountains and dramatic Ghibli clouds today. It’s honestly one of the most pleasant casual bicycling days I’ve experienced anywhere.
Right next to Asuka Station, you can grab a English map from the tourist office to plan your day. There are numerous spots to see in the area, all reachable by bicycle. I rented an e-bike from Himawari Bicycle Rental, located next to the station, for ¥1,200 for a full day (they have a ¥200 digital coupon on their website). Return it by 5pm when they close. The area is hilly, so I would recommend an e-bike. Set off and spend the day exploring archaeological sites and small local museums, ride past rice terraces and through rural roads, stop for lunch or coffee, and just soak in the scenery.
The key archaeological sites such as Takamatsuzuka and Kitora have adjoining small modern museums which are quite nice to visit - modern, air conditioned and with plenty of artifacts, dioramas, multimedia exhibits, models, etc. Compared to Kyoto National Museum which I visited earlier this week, these museums felt much more intimate and “real”
they let you get close to the artifacts and history in a way the big places don’t.
For the history buffs, make a pit stop two stations before Asuka at Unebigoryo-Mae Station and visit the Archaeological Institute of Kashihara’s museum. It’s a medium sized museum that is super well designed and quite accessible to non-Japanese speakers. It covers the Jomon / Yayoi periods to the Kofun and Asuka periods, with special focus on local archaeological finds. Give yourself an hour there.
Asuka works easily as a day trip from Osaka, Kyoto or Nara. Depending on your train choices (local vs. express), you can reach Asuka in just over an hour to up to 1 hour 40 minutes one way. Absolutely worth it.