Nara Basin

The valley itself makes up only around 8% of the land area of Nara Prefecture, but the terrain is especially fit for rice production, and as the site of the ancient capital of Heijō-kyō it served as a political and cultural centre.

Today it is closely connected to the Keihanshin metropolitan area by a strong transport infrastructure, with several major cities growing up in the area in addition to the prefectural capital Nara, and is the most densely-populated region of the prefecture.

[1] The basin has a total land area of around 300 square kilometres (120 sq mi).

[1] This accounts for only about 8% of the land area of the prefecture,[1] but because of its flat and fertile alluvial soil it is especially suited for cultivating rice[1] The imperial capital of Heijō-kyō was constructed here in the eighth century (the Nara period),[1] making this region the political and cultural centre of Japan at the time.

[1] It is closely connected to the Keihanshin metropolitan area (Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe) by a strong transport infrastructure.