Tada! Finally arrived at the Kintetsu-Nara Station(近鉄奈良).

Walking out of the station, you can see the famous meeting point Gyoki Statue with a fountain and the signboard of "Higashimuki Shopping Street". Higashimuki means the East Exit. 

The east exit plaza is called Gyoki-hiroba or Gyoki-plaza and is a popular meeting point(I called it Rendezvous). This can be a good rendezvous. (Please refer to the tips and tricks of smiletoearth.com, to be updated soon) 

google map

Where is Nara city? Nara City is at the northern part of Nara Prefecture, bordering Kyoto Prefecture. Kyoto is at the north of Nara City while Osaka city sits on the east of Nara city. Osaka is closer to Nara city. 

The Nara Tourists Centre is just on the right hand side when you are about to walk out of the station. There are many deer souvenirs for you to buy. If you are a crazy deer lover, this is the paradise! The price is reasonable. You can buy cute soft toys, necklaces(200yen), keychains, postcards(100yen), magnets(550yen), stickers, etc. 

Strolling down the Higashimuki Shopping Street, you could see nicely wrapped native products like pickles, sweet snacks showcasing in front of their shops. Kyoto and Nara have been well-known for their pickles cuisine. 

This is interesting! This shop was selling Dorayaki(銅鑼焼き), Doraemon’s favourite food. As you could see, the Dorayaki in Nara is a larger Dorayaki(about 30cm in diameter). It is so intriguing that Dorayaki has another name called mikasa(三笠). Mikasa ? Attack on Titan(進撃の巨人) LOL so cute! They can put Mikasa’s face on the Dorayaki~~~ I can guarantee it will be a hot item ever! 

“In the Kansai area, this sweet is often called mikasa (三笠). The word originally means triple straw hat, but is also an alternative name of Mount Wakakusa, a low hill with gentle slopes located in Nara. In Nara, a larger mikasa of about 30 cm in diameter is made.” - Wikipedia 

After walking 3-5 minutes, I made a turn and saw a Japanese Snack Shop, Nakatanidou(中谷堂). The first one captivated me was not the crowd. It was the fragrance of beans powder permeated in the air… my nose made my eyes to turn around to look at the shop. I wondered what were they selling. Then I saw some people were holding a small green piece of mocha like snack with yellow powder on it. I went in the queue then bought my share. This is Yomogi mochi. It was made of mugworts. It was slightly different from the typical mochi I had eaten before. The mochi was much more bouncy and chewy. It was pounded on before. The red bean paste inside was more watery than usual. The most pleasing to taste and smell was the roasted soy flour on mochi. I prefer typical mochi red bean paste.

I stopped by at China Dining Hiten for a light early lunch. It was kind of chilling outside, so I ordered a bowl of Chinese styled ramen and a dessert, coconut almond pudding. The ramen was Chinese styled Japanese ramen. I could taste the garlic and some sesame oil(if I am not wrong) in the soup. The price of food in the restaurant around here is slightly higher. Something captivated my tongue was the coconut almond pudding. It was very thick in coconut taste. Usually, I disliked almond taste in pudding… it was like couching syrup. But this one … I could taste the almond like a breeze. Love it. The texture like a thicker tofu. For close to 400yen, this pudding worth for its price. ^~^