Johana Old Town and Zentokuji Temple

Johana is a small castle-town-turned-merchant-district in Nanto City that preserves a compact grid of Edo- and Meiji-era streets centered on Zentokuji Temple, a Jodo Shinshu temple whose grounds have anchored the town's identity for centuries. Visitors walk narrow lanes lined with traditional wooden shopfronts and warehouse buildings, many still used as residences or small local businesses, before reaching the temple's main hall and surrounding structures. The town is best known nationally for the Johana Hikiyama Festival held each May, when elaborately decorated wooden floats (hikiyama) are pulled through the streets accompanied by traditional music, a tradition documented at a dedicated float museum near the temple that displays festival floats and equipment outside festival dates. A general walk through the old town and temple grounds takes about one and a half to two hours, extending further for those visiting the float museum. Outside the festival period, Johana offers an unhurried, low-key visit compared to more heavily touristed old towns in the prefecture, with local shops selling regional sweets and crafts along the main street. The town also serves as the gateway for buses heading into the Gokayama villages of Ainokura and Suganuma, making it a natural stop for travelers continuing deeper into the mountains.