The Yamanobe no Michi, said to be one of Japan's oldest roads, traces quietly through the fields of Yamato. Starting from the foot of Mount Miwa, it winds through wheat fields and past ancient burial mounds, making its way northward. There is no one hurrying you along.

Those who walk the path each encounter different things along the way — the swaying grasses at the roadside, the distant sound of water, the shifting feel of the earth underfoot. The road simply continues, as it always has.