Visit Nara

This merchant house has been restored to its original appearance and is free to enter. From the entrance, you step straight into the kitchen, with a soaring ceiling, exposed wooden beams and an ingenious pulley system for closing the shutters. You can take off your shoes and walk through the tatami rooms where the family lived and climb the ladder to small room above the kitchen that served as maid or apprentice quarters. The elevated room near the entrance is the “store front," the public area where the merchant received customers. Volunteers are on hand, but may not speak English.