IKARUGA, Nara >> In the ancient town of Ikaruga in Nara prefecture, visitors can easily immerse themselves in Buddhist tradition by hopping from temple to temple — on a buggy.

The two-hour tour traverses temples within a 1-mile radius of Horyuji Temple, the world’s oldest wooden structure.

The temple is among the most famous in Japan and was registered as Japan’s first World Heritage cultural site 30 years ago, along with Himeji Castle in Hyogo prefecture. But the inconvenience of getting to other spots after visiting the temple discouraged tourists from exploring the town of Ikaruga.

The area is rife with historic temples, but they aren’t close enough for a walking tour. Worse, there are few bus serv­ices to connect them, and after the first couple of years following the UNESCO registration, tourism in the area waned.

To revitalize the area’s visitor industry, local real estate company Ikaruga Sangyo began offering 40 tours, including the buggy tour.

The vehicles allow visitors to enjoy driving a one-person buggy and take a slow drive through idyllic scenery. The tour is so popular that international tourists visit Ikaruga specifically to take the buggy ride.

“To be registered as a World Heritage site is not the goal,” said Masahito Inoue, president of Ikaruga Sangyo. “It is the mission of those who live here to maintain the liveliness of the town.”