Asuka, Nara Pref. šC When I arrived in Japan in 1994, I wasted little time in traveling across the country as much as I could, assuming, as most of us do, that I'd only be here a year or two. I saw a good deal that initial year ¡ª despite my limited Japanese and only a basic understanding of whatever it was I was looking at.
Now with over two decades of experience as my guide, I've recently begun to revisit some of those places.
I believe I visited Asuka sometime in 1995. I remember little of that trip to this corner of Nara Prefecture, but its pull for travelers interested in Japan¡¯s deep history is undeniable. During the Yamato Period (300-710), this village was one of the earliest capitals of the nascent Yamato state, even meriting its own aptly named Asuka Period (552-645) ¡ª a time of cultural blooming and political consolidation (indeed, it was during this era that the country of Japan began to refer to itself by the modern name of ¡°Nihon¡± instead of the archaic ¡°Wa¡±).
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