Asuka

Asuka is a village of rice paddies and burial mounds in Nara Prefecture, and in the sixth and seventh centuries it was where Japan first took shape as an organized state. The countryside looks ordinary at first glance; almost everything in it turns out to be ancient.

The Ishibutai Kofun is the signature sight, a burial mound stripped down to its massive exposed stones, large enough to stand inside. Asuka-dera holds the country's oldest great Buddha statue, and the painted murals of the Takamatsuzuka tomb have a museum of their own. Carved stones of unknown purpose stand quietly in the fields.

Rent a bicycle at the station; the sights scatter across a few kilometers of quiet lanes, and cycling between them is the pleasure of the place. Try Asuka nabe, a local hot pot made with milk, before heading back. Asuka works as a relaxed day trip from Nara or Osaka on the Kintetsu line.