Situated at the center of Japan, Nara is an inland prefecture which is encircled by Osaka territory to the west, Wakayama region to the south and Mie lies on its eastern side. Nara Prefecture is one of the most important places in Japan which possess a vast geography ranging from planes to mountainous region. It comprises a forest area of about 60%. It is said that Nara derives its name from the word “narashita” meaning “made flat”. It is assumed that the first state of Japan was placed in Nara.
Nara Prefecture covers a population of about 1.44 million. The average annual temperature is 14.6c and the annual rainfall is 111.5c in Nara. In winter, the temperature ranges in between 3.8c to 4.0c and in summer from 21.7c to 26.6c. Due to industrial developments in the city the economic growth rate has increased to 1.5%.
There has been a huge growth in agriculture due to the good climatic conditions as well as the fertile soil. The production of rice had increased profusely during 1885 to 1932 and was known as “Nara Phase”. Apart from rice crop, there are many other crops like cotton, tobacco, rape which are found in abundance. Vegetables like eggplants, spinach, tomatoes are cultivated here. Chrysanthemum, Rose, Cyclamen, Peony are produced in Nara .
Nara Prefecture is a store house of various industries. The local industries in Nara includes textile manufacturing such as clothing and socks, pharmaceutical factories, food processing, cotton, timber, leather, fur production and many other local businesses. This place is renowned for it's Buddhist images and shrines and therefore serves as an attractive destination for tourists.
Some of the tourist destinations in Nara are:
- Todai-ji, including Nigatsu-do
- Saidai-ji
- Kofuku-ji
- Gango-ji
- Yakushi-ji
- Toshodai-ji
- Shinto shrines
- Kasuga Shrine
- Imperial palace
- Heijo Palace
