Nakatanidou

This guide to Nakatanidou on Sanjo-dori in Nara follows a rhythm timed to two strikes a second, a wooden mallet crashing onto scalding mochi rice while a bare hand darts in between blows to fold the paste. It traces that speed back to Kamikitayama, the mountain village where owner Mitsuo Nakatani learned to pound rice fast enough to beat the cold, and to the national championships he later won with his staff in 2005 and 2006. Watch from the street a few times a day, and listen to the crowd count along with the mallet.