東吉野村に行こう！

Hello, I’m Nomura.
What comes to mind when you hear “Nara”? What I think about immediately is of the deer there lol. Perhaps you think of the spots in Nara like Todaiji, Wakakusa, Kasuga Taisha, Nara town, Asuka, the cherry blossoms of Yoshino, or Odaigahara. You may even go to these places a lot for taking photos. This time, what I’m going to introduce is another side of Nara.

This is about a mountain village called Higashi Yoshino. Higashi Yoshino village is located in the Yoshino area, an eastern part of the Nara prefecture and hosts the clear Takami river. It’s about 30 minutes away from the famous cherry blossom sightseeing spot of Yoshino. Historically, it’s known to be the final place where the last traces of the Japanese wolf, now extinct, were found at the end of the Tokugawa period. From Osaka city it takes about an hour and a half by car. Even without a car, you can easily access it by taking the Kintetsu Osaka line to Haibara station and getting the bus(*1) there. I’d like to show you the charming Higashi Yoshino village from a photographer’s point of view.

(*1)For bus, please contact Higashiyoshino village office.(TEL:0746-42-0441)

Whenever I go to Higashi Yoshino, the first place I visit is Office Camp Higashiyoshino. These old wooden houses renovated and repurposed into shared offices are a simple space, but has a comfortable and warm atmosphere. You may wonder if it’s okay to wander in freely into these offices, but they also have a coffee stand. Enjoy a cup while talking and asking about Higashi Yoshino to the locals.

Sakamoto was there when I went, so I asked him about the offices. The idea behind the shared offices started when a need to face the steady depopulation in Higashi Yoshino village came up.
Sakamoto who originally moved from Osaka, occasionally lent his friends and acquaintances the spaces to be used as offices. He then realized that this space could be used to show and tell the greatness of Higashi Yoshino village, which what made him move.
Moving isn’t easy. Environmental changes, family, and work are some of the various barriers that come with a move. Through a cooperative effort, they are trying to help lessen the walls of moving.

The offices look like regular houses so you may pass them by if you come by car. Be sure to put the address in your GPS if you do! As a special bonus, you can see how the houses looked like before the renovation as of June 2017 on Google Street View.

館名に「人文系」と銘打っているのは、「人間の文化」について一から考え直したいという想いを込めているからです。本館には確かに歴史や文学、思想といった「人文学」に分類される蔵書が多いのですが、分類記号で本を集めているわけではありません。どうやら身体や大地をベースにして「土着的に」生きるための書物を、ぼくたちが勝手に「人文系」と呼んでいるふしがあります…(以降略)

人文系私設図書館Luca LibroのWEBサイトより抜粋｜続きはこちら

Luca Libro is a library started by a couple from Hyogo prefecture in 2015. Surrounded by forest with a river flowing next to it, Luca Libro was made by renovating a vacant house. Upon entering the library, you will feel that time moves quietly and ever so slowly.
It seems that the husband studying Mediterranean culture moved to Higashi Yoshino village to pursue his lifelong research, and then sought out for what they can for this village. Because the wife used to work in a library and they had a collection of books from his former teacher, they turned the place into a private library. The actual name of the library contains the word “humanities” in it, and I wondered what that meant. If you’re interested in reading about it, please visit their site for more information (Japanese only).

Now the concept that started from the private library has developed in the direction of making a bigger place to study in Higashi Yoshino village. I’m looking forward to the day when it will be achieved.

The shrine was established by Emperor Tenmu, and the deity it is dedicated to is the God of Water. Looking up Niukawakami Shrine online, it tells of an upper shrine, middle shrine, and lower shrine. Originally the upper shrine was in Kawakami village, the middle shrine was in Higashi Yoshino village, and the lower shrine was in Shimoichi town. Now however, each of these shrines is independent of each other.

Here in Higashi Yoshino village, there is a place where the three rivers meet; Takami River, Hiuragawa River, and Shigogawa river. And that place is called Yumebuchi, with its origin dating back to the time of Emperor Jinmu (according to legend, Emperor Jinmu is said to be the first emperor of Japan). The rivers are shallow and transparent with big rocks. Besides making nice photos, this place might make you want to jump right in or have a barbeque on the banks.

You’ll find some other interesting spots by walking along the river. Part of the fun in taking photos is going into a side street not knowing what waits ahead, and finding something there through photography. Try to walk around sometimes and look for those small places that spark your interest.

Yoshinoan
This place was recommended to me by Sakamoto-san from Office Camp. They serve delicious soba noodles here, and the interior is so magical that it makes people want to take photos. Each and every piece of furniture seems to have been carefully selected with attention to detail. Although they haven’t been given a star yet, Yoshinoan is mentioned in the Michelin Guide. The store closes when soba runs out, so be sure to make a reservation or go at an earlier time than usual.

Connected right on the side of it is a café and gallery.
It’s a bilingual paper for visitors of Nara.

What do you think about Higashi Yoshino village?

It may take a while to go to the village, but you can always take a train there so I hope you’ll try to visit!
I want to share this piece with as many people as I can so this article will be posted on both RECO and Discover PhotoLife.
Furthermore, it will be in English for the readers overseas.
Thanks to Tammy for the translation.