Kashihara

Kashihara is located in the middle of the prefecture, directly south of Nara city, and is the second largest city in the prefecture. Kashihara is known as the location of the original Imperial capital, Fujiwara-kyo, dating from 694 to 710. The total area of Kashihara city is thirty-nine square kilometers.

Currently Kashihara-shi has a population of about 125,000 people and was founded as a city on February 11, 1956. Many railway lines pass through Kashihara at Yamato-Yagi station and is a central point for trains going to Nara / Kyoto, Osaka, Nagoya, and Yoshino (Kintetsu). Train lines include the Osaka line, Minami Osaka line, Kashihara line, Yoshino line (Kintetsu and Sakurai line (JR West).

One of the largest Shinto shrines in the area is Kashihara-Jingu located near Kashihara Jingu Mae station and provides easy access to Asuka and Yoshino.