Travel diary ８　～　Experience the traditional culture of Ikoma in Nara！　～

Good morning!

Thank you for participating in Vamos’s “journey” from afar today!

Now, let me explain today’s trip.

Region

Looking at the map of Japan, I will go to this place today.

Itinerary

Day１

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Day２

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The above is this itinerary.

Let’s enjoy a trip to the city of Ikoma for two days this time！

Day１

Ikoma Cable Car（生駒ケーブル）

First of all, I would like to take this cable car to the first destination.

It is the oldest cable car in Japan and has a history of more than 100 years.

It is still used by 3 million people annually.

In 2000, four new vehicles were introduced.

Each of them has a name of “Dre”, “Mike”, “Doremi”, and “Sweet”, and the BGM that matches each is flowing in the train, making it a unique train.

Do you know where the cable car driver is?

Don’t you think you’re the one sitting in front of you?

Actually, the person sitting in front is the conductor.

The conductor sits in front of the cable car, opening the door, broadcasting in the car, and checking for danger while driving.

The driver runs the cable car in the driver’s cab at the station above.

When you arrive at the station above, look ahead of the railroad tracks and you will see the driver.

【ふるさと納税】チタン製ミニチュアマンホール 『生駒市』 1枚組 価格：10000円（税込、送料無料) (2021/5/15時点) 楽天で購入

Hozan-ji（宝山寺）

Hozanji Temple, located on the hillside of Mt. Ikoma, is one of the three major sacred heavens in Japan that enshrines the god of business.

It has prospered since ancient times as a temple of worship of many people seeking the benefits of this world.

The temple, which was completed in the mountains of Ikoma over a period of about 10 years, is lined with unique temple buildings unique to temples in the mountains, each of which enshrines various gods and Buddhas.

While walking in the scenery below you from the hill and the nostalgic atmosphere unique to this place, including the area around the temple, I want you to encounter a world of “unusual” that you can’t feel anywhere else.

* Kangiten is one of the gods of the heavens.

Tenbe is a general term for people who live in heaven in Buddhism.

Also known as heaven, heavens, and heavenly gods.

An ancient Indian god was incorporated into Buddhism and became a Dharmapala.

宝山寺みそ4種セット（伝統調味・からし入り・おかずみそ山の味・海の味） 価格：1800円（税込、送料別) (2021/5/15時点) 楽天で購入

Kinachick no Mori

As the name suggests, “Kinachick no Mori” is a cafe in the woods.

The interior of a renovated old private house, which was used as a recreational facility for a certain company and was nearly 100 years old, has a calm atmosphere surrounded by trees.

The name of the store comes from Kina’s “tic” cafe, which is a collection of things that the owner, Kina, who is also a puppet designer, likes.

One of the attractions is the location.

Huge cedars with a height of 40 to 60 m inhabit the vast site.

It is so high that you cannot see it to the top.

In addition, there are plants such as cherry blossoms in the garden of the cafe, which show various faces in each season, so pay attention not only to the lunch menu but also to that.

A delicious lunch and a cozy space.

And in a great location surrounded by nature, time seems to flow more slowly than usual.

You can enjoy your time alone by reading or knitting.

Share your time with friends and lovers.

【ふるさと納税】ブリティッシュ大根セット 価格：10000円（税込、送料無料) (2021/5/15時点) 楽天で購入

Ueda Sake ten（上田酒店）

Founded over 400 years, “Sake has a heart”

Mt. Ikoma, which has been often written in the ancient city of Nara and Manyoshu

It is a traditional sake brewery that works hard to make sake.

In Nara Prefecture, the birthplace of sake, as a long-established sake brewery that has been around since the Muromachi period, we continue to carefully produce high-quality sake using Ikoma’s famous water and high-quality domestic rice.

In addition to the representative brands of “Growth”, which was named after the idea of ​​being the chief of Ikoma, and “Happy Cho”, which was named to keep happy things going for a long time, in recent years, we have used completely pesticide-free organic rice. We continue to challenge new things such as sake.

We also have a tour of the sake brewery, so let’s go.

嬉長　菩提もと　純米　720ml　上田酒造 価格：2720円（税込、送料無料) (2021/5/15時点) 楽天で購入

Unagi Kawahara（うなぎ川はら）

We use carefully selected farmed live eels to remove odors and bake them fragrantly with our special Bincho charcoal.

* Bincho charcoal came to be called “Bincho charcoal” because Bichuya Chozaemon, a merchant in Tanabe, Kii Province, made Ubamegashi as a material and started selling it.

岐阜鰻たむろ極3尾 自宅用 ウナギ蒲焼き うなぎ 蒲焼き 国内産 送料無料　行列の人気うなぎ屋尾 国産 グルメ ウナギ 国産 海鮮 高級 魚介 ギフト　母の日　父の日　お中元　お歳暮　帰省暮 価格：11640円（税込、送料無料) (2021/5/15時点) 楽天で購入

Day２

Good morning.

Let’s start the second day’s trip with good spirits today!

Kuragarigoe Nara-Kaido（暗越奈良街道）

It was established in the Nara period as the shortest road connecting Namba and Heijokyo.

During this period, guardians and foreign envoys of Tang and Korea also traveled to and from Heijokyo through this road.

It is a highway from Osaka (Namba) to Nara (Heijokyo) over the dark pass in the Ikoma Mountains, and is one of the Nara Highway and the Ise Sangu Highway.

The distance was 8 ri and 8 towns (about 32 km).

The dark pass is a cobblestone road of about 50m, and there are Ojingu lanterns and signposts of the past.

1 ri is 3927.2688m, and 1 ri = 36 towns = 2160.

One ri in the Edo period was a walking distance in half an hour (about one hour).

Kanki no Yu（歓喜乃湯）

Since it is located on a hill, you can see Mt. Ikoma.

In the distance, it looks like an eastern house in the corner of the park.

It is a large footbath and can be used by about 20 people.

The drainboards on which you sit are lined up in an orderly manner, so it doesn’t matter if it’s crowded.

 People who seem to be local, regardless of age or sex, including infants, take turns using it.

There was also a hot water vending machine.

It’s as cheap as 100 yen for 100 liters, and if you don’t mind carrying hot springs, you can enjoy natural hot springs in your own bath.

Soba-dokoro Yama no Kami（そば処 山の神）

An old folk house with a history of 140 years.

From the large glass window, you can see the husband making soba every morning.

The interior of the store, where the sunlight shines in, is warm and a cozy space where time passes slowly. You can relax and enjoy delicious soba.

Michelin Guide 2017 Special Edition, selected as a restaurant recommended by investigators.

It is a soba restaurant in a town rooted in the local area with a reputation for providing delicious soba with careful work.

【ふるさと納税】卯月製麺の一番人気！「ほっそり細そば」 価格：10000円（税込、送料無料) (2021/5/15時点) 楽天で購入

Takayama Chikurinen（高山竹林園）

It accounts for most of the domestic production of chasen and is the only chasen producing area in Japan.

It was more than 500 years ago, in the middle of the Muromachi period.

It is said that Takayama Castle’s second son, Sosui, was commissioned by his best friend Murata Juko to make it.

Murata Juko is a priest of a temple called Meiji Temple and is famous as a master of renga, waka poetry, and calligraphy that was popular at the time. In modern times, he is generally regarded as the founder of Wabi-cha.

Juko and Juko had a close relationship with each other through Renga and Waka poems, and when Juko first devised the tea ceremony, he was asked to make a tool to mix tea suitable for the tea ceremony.

I did not allow the production of chasen except for the boy who was born and gave himself the sex as a tribute to Ichiko Soden, who firmly adhered to the secret statement.

Even with the passage of time and the Showa era, this secret has been firmly preserved, but due to a shortage of people, this system has been broken, and the technology that has been kept secret for a long time has become open to the public.

Here at Takayama Chikurinen, you can experience the tea ceremony in earnest.

This should definitely be experienced first hand.

Detail

茶筅 茶せん 茶筌 日本製 茶筅＆茶杓＆茶杓筒セット 真茶筅 白竹 翠華園 谷村弥三郎作 茶道具 BBY-0208 価格：7000円（税込、送料無料) (2021/5/15時点) 楽天で購入

How was your trip this time?

I briefly introduced what it is like, but I think that you will be able to experience history and tradition more concretely when you actually come to the site.

We look forward to guiding you in Japan！

Thank you for reading to the end！

Also, I would like to post an interesting part of Kansai.

Then, have a good trip from now on！

PS. We provide various information about Kansai in Japan, so please feel free to contact us if you would like to directly observe and experience Japanese traditional culture and food culture！

The content of the homepage is limited to Nara Prefecture, but if there is a place you would like to visit, please contact us and we will guide you！

Let’s find your own happiness together！