NARA, JAPAN

Located less than an hour south of Kyoto by train, this city is enchanting.

What’s so special about Nara?

The Seven Great Temples for one thing, each housing ancient relics, including an 8th-century painting of female deity Kichijōten and the Yakushi Triad sculpture.

All this sightseeing is making me hungry. Great! Nara is famous for kakinoha-zushi, a fermented sushi of salmon, red snapper or mackerel wrapped in persimmon leaves, a natural preservative. If fish isn’t your thing, snack on chewy kuzu mochi cakes dipped in dark molasses or slurp fine somen noodles in broth made from the soft water of Mount Miwa. Don’t forget the sake, which many say was originally made in Nara’s temples. None of the by-products from a sacred temple can be wasted so the sake lees (sediment) is used to make narazuke pickles.

Plenty of good food must mean lots of Michelin stars. Nara’s 22 starred restaurants have nothing on Tokyo’s 203 but it’s the five restaurants awarded a Green Star that make it so special.

What’s a Green Star, again? It’s awarded for sustainability: locally sourced, seasonal ingredients, waste-reduction practices and a minimal environmental footprint.

Give me a sample of these sustainability champions.

Chugokusai Naramachi Kuko (913-2 Kideracho; +81 74 630 8306) harvests produce from its organic farm for its SichuanCantonese menu that includes house-fermented tofu and yamato yasai (native vegetables). At Kiyosuminosato AWA (861 Takahicho; +81 74 250 1o55), preserving centuries-old local vegetables earned the eatery a Green Star. On its 360-squaremetre plot, 19 certified varieties of yamato vegetables are grown, such as fushimi sweet pepper and Japanese mountain yam.