World heritage: Fujiwara, Kasuga
My summer vacation ran from August 8th to the 16th this year, but since we were mostly tied up with household matters and couldn't really go anywhere, we drove yesterday (the 15th) to visit the "Ancient Capitals of Asuka and Fujiwara" sites, which were recently designated as a World Heritage site. (Our son stayed home to study for his entrance exams.)
The first place we visited was the Fujiwara Palace Site. It was surprisingly close to our home; taking the expressway, we arrived in an hour and ten minutes.
Next, we headed to the Asuka area. Our first stop was Asuka-dera Temple. I had visited once before, over twenty years ago; I remember touring several sightseeing spots—likely by rental bicycle—during the sweltering summer heat. Back then, the area felt relatively untouched, and I recall quite liking that quality. This time, however, the impression was vastly different; the surrounding area had been beautifully landscaped, and the temple itself appeared much neater and more polished than I remembered.
Next, we headed to the Ishibutai Kofun. Although the site closes at 5:00 PM, I managed to arrive at 4:20 PM. I recalled that in the past, it was simply a stone burial mound sitting in an open field with no admission fee; however, the area is now enclosed and requires an entrance fee, giving it a very different atmosphere. While it has certainly been tidied up, to be honest, I preferred the simpler, more rustic feel it used to have.
Finally, we headed to the Takamatsuzuka Tumulus. Since it is open 24 hours a day, we made our way there at a leisurely pace.
It was cloudy that day, so the heat wasn't extreme; however, being the height of summer, the combined fatigue of a long drive and walking had me on the verge of exhaustion, so I decided to take a break and have dinner nearby. We happened to be close to AEON MALL Kashihara, so we stopped there. It is a massive shopping mall—it took another ten minutes just to walk from the parking lot to our destination inside—but the shop had a great atmosphere, and we were able to refresh ourselves.
We spent about three hours at the World Heritage site on this visit. Still, since it would likely take several days to explore the entire area thoroughly—and because it is relatively close to our home—we plan to return a few more times to take our time visiting the remaining spots. Beyond the temples themselves, I really love the atmosphere of the townscape and the surrounding fields; compared to places like Kyoto, it retains a charmingly rustic feel, which is something I find particularly appealing.
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