Higashimuki Shopping Street in Nara is a little more tourist-oriented than the standard pedestrianized retail district. A good place for arts, crafts, food items and tea accoutrements (Japan’s main tea district is just outside Nara), Higashimuki also has a few antique stores, with netsuke (kimono fasteners) and tsuba (sword-handle guards) that can range from cheap to mortgage-the-house expensive. Just as a note: You need special permission in Japan to buy a real sword; they keep close track of those.
