にしがわ・Nishigawa
Nishigawa is home to Kawakami’s only elementary school, which will soon be demolished and rebuilt into a new structure that will become a combined elementary and middle school.
There are two teahouses (1) (2) where you can try Nara’s famous persimmon-leaf sushi, Kakinohazushi 柿の葉寿司 along 169.
Branching out from 169 is a the おとなしい tributary of the Yoshino River. Along this tributary is one of Kawakami’s staple restaurants, Arubaru アルーボール。It is run by three local obaachans and is a great place to stop by for lunch and to inquire about local lore. The restaurant gets its name from from the Spanish word for “forest.”
Across from アルーボール is one of the two locations where Kawakami’s farmer’s market, Yamaikiichi (やまいき市) sets up every Sunday. The other location is in front of the post office in Sako beside the 道の駅。
There used to be a forestry museum that stood next to this museum, but it was burnt to the ground by a serial arsonist in 2013. He arrested and jailed for his crimes but there is currently an unfilled gap of a physical museum to display the deep heritage of Yoshino Forestry (吉野林業）。
Further along this road is the Akitsuno Park. There is a public restroom here with a vending machine, along with gazebos along the river tributary. The shallow calm water here is a great place to bring small children. There are many sakura trees here and in April most of this park becomes alight with pink cherry blossoms. A shrine is built within this park to commemorate the village’s WWII casualties.
Follow the path through the torrii gate up the mountain and within a few hundred meters you will reach one of Kawakami’s most popular waterfalls, 蜻蛉の滝。If you continue past the waterfall and veer left when the road forks, this will lead to a short loop that will take you back to the road leading to the parking lot in about 20 minutes of light walking. The path that continues straight and slightly right is not well-marked or traversed, but will lead you all the way to Mt. Yoshino （吉野山） to connect with the Kumano Kodo（熊野古道）。
Although just outside the bounds of Kawakami, two great restaurants to try just across the tunnel leading to Nishigawa are the Ashibi Yakiniku Restaurant and Kunisu Café. The meat smoke of Ashibi draws customers from well outside the prefecture and has a cozy log-cabin feel. It is a great place for work parties and gatherings with friends.
Kunisu is the project of a member of Yoshno’s 地域おこし協力隊 and was built from a rennovated 100-year old empty farmhouse. It offers a spectacular living example of a solution to Japan’s abandoned house （空き家 ）issue .