🗺️ Nara Mochi Himon Center Street

Mochihamaden Central Street is a shopping street located 300 meters south of Nara City’s "Higashimuki Shopping Street," which runs through Nara City from Kintetsu Osaka Line's "Nara Station." It is adjacent to Naramachi, a popular tourist destination in Nara, and remains lively throughout the year. The main street of Mochihamaden Central Street is approximately 250 meters long and about 3 meters wide, lined with around 100 shops, both new and old, including restaurants, clothing stores, and home goods shops. A notable feature of this shopping street is that there are no chain stores; all the shops are individually owned. As one of the oldest shopping streets in Nara Prefecture, it was known from the Meiji era (1868–) until the late 1970s as "the best shopping street in Nara." The name "Mochihamaden" comes from an ancient legend. It is said that over 1,100 years ago, a great serpent was causing havoc on Mount Ōmine in Nara. A high monk from Tōdai-ji, Master Rigen, along with seven young companions, including the box carrier Kanbei, shared the "mochi" (rice cakes) and "hama" (rice) they brought with the local people affected by the serpent and managed to drive it away. Subsequently, Master Rigen was revered by the locals as "Mochihamaden," and the street was named after him. In 2007, Nara Prefecture established a facility called "Mochihamaden no Yume CUBE" to support young entrepreneurs. This stylish facility, featuring glass partitions, attracted many young business owners to open shops there, becoming a hot topic at the time. Many now-popular shops, such as unique shaved ice stores and creative bakeries, graduated from "Yume CUBE." The shopping street also features several historical sites that bear the marks of time, such as the Kasuga Taisha Grand Lodge, the high board where the Edo Shogunate posted laws and announcements, and the road markers indicating the starting and ending points of roads. Additionally, throughout the year, various colorful events are held, including the "Benzaiten Summer Festival" and the "Nara Charity Festival."

Adjacent to the famous tourist destination Naramachi in Nara, it is one of the oldest shopping streets in Nara Prefecture. The "Mochi-Ibune no Yume CUBE," which gathers unique shops, has sparked a lot of interest. There are historical sites like the high placard area and the road markers that bear the traces of time.