NaRaFamily

NaRaFamily (ならファミリー, commonly abbreviated as Nara-fa) is a large shopping center located in Saidaiji Higashimachi, Nara City, Nara Prefecture, Japan. It opened on March 14, 1972, as Japan's first two-core suburban shopping center, a pioneering format that combined a department store and a general merchandise store under one roof. The center was developed by Diamond Family, a joint venture between Diamond City (later AEON Mall) and Kintetsu Department Store, and was originally named Nara Family. It is directly connected to Kintetsu Yamato-Saidaiji Station, a major railway hub in the Kintetsu network. The center is anchored by two main tenants: Kintetsu Department Store Nara, occupying the west side from basement 1 to the 6th floor, and AEON Style Nara (formerly JUSCO Nara, then AEON Nara), occupying the north side from basement 1 to the 2nd floor. In addition to these anchors, NaRaFamily houses approximately 150 specialty stores, public service counters, and cultural facilities including the Akishino Concert Hall. The specialty store zone, known as "zoro," spans the east side from basement 1 to the 6th floor and the rooftop. The center also includes three annex buildings. NaRaFamily has undergone several major renovations. A complete rebuild was completed in November 1992 with a total investment of about 40 billion yen, transforming it into a multi-functional complex with a "Silk Road Fantasy" theme. In 2002, the center underwent a full-scale renovation focused on becoming a "future regional shopping center," introducing a 500-seat food court called "FOOD OASIS." In 2016, a renovation costing about 5 billion yen repositioned the center as a high-quality urban-style commercial facility under the concept of "Yamato Modern," and the new specialty store zone "zoro" opened. The logo was also redesigned, incorporating the hump of a camel as a graphic motif and changing the notation from "NaRaFamily" to "narafamily." The center's symbol character is a camel named "Pokora," inspired by Nara's location as the eastern terminus of the Silk Road. A camel card was issued as a membership card until December 2024, when it was replaced by the NaRaFamily app. The rooftop features a sky garden called "Sky Garden" with lavender, a vegetable garden, and a lawn zone, as well as an amusement area. The center serves a diverse customer base: students, particularly high schoolers, on weekdays due to nearby schools and the station, and families on weekends. Ownership and management have changed over time. The land and buildings were transferred to Japan Retail Fund Investment Corporation in 2003 for 33.9 billion yen. Diamond Family was absorbed into Diamond City in 2006, which was then absorbed into AEON Mall in 2007. In 2018, the management and operation contract with AEON Mall ended, and Sumisho Urban Development Co., Ltd. took over management and operation. The center remains active and is a key commercial facility in Nara City.

NaRaFamily opened on March 14, 1972, as Nara Family, Japan's first two-core suburban shopping center. It was developed by Diamond Family, a joint venture established in December 1970 between Diamond City (a JUSCO-affiliated developer, now AEON Mall) and Kintetsu Department Store. The project was conceived by JUSCO, which was actively planning suburban shopping centers and believed in the future of suburban locations. Finding a department store partner was difficult because few department stores were interested in suburban locations at the time. Kintetsu Department Store was attracted to the Saidaiji location, a key point on the Kintetsu railway network, and agreed to participate on the condition of capital investment. The original building had one basement floor and five above-ground floors (partially two), with a site area of 21,450 m², total floor area of about 41,600 m², and parking for 600 cars. It housed JUSCO Nara, Kintetsu Department Store Nara, Toho Culture Center, and over 100 specialty stores. As the Saidaiji area developed into a sub-center of Nara City and consumer needs changed, Diamond Family decided on a complete rebuild. Stores were moved to temporary facilities 100 meters away in a parking lot until September 30, 1992. The new store represented a total investment of about 40 billion yen, designed by Tohata Architects & Engineers, with construction managed by Mitsubishi Corporation Osaka Branch and built by a joint venture including Shimizu Corporation. On November 14, 1992, it reopened as "NaRaFamily," a multi-functional complex shopping center with cultural, information, and service facilities. The image theme was "Silk Road Fantasy." New facilities included NTT and travel salons, administrative counters such as a passport center, and the Akishino Concert Hall and Kintetsu Nara Hall. It was the first shopping center in Japan to have full-scale music facilities. The JUSCO direct-operated area expanded from 7,828 m² to 11,928 m², while Kintetsu Department Store expanded from 9,789 m² to 30,289 m², about three times larger. The store design evoked a European resort hotel, and a camel automaton named "Pokora" operated hourly, seemingly in competition with Sogo's "It's a Small World" clock. In 2002, Kintetsu Department Store Nara invested about 220 million yen to renovate floors 2-6, reopening on September 26. In November of the same year, NaRaFamily began a full-scale interior renovation under the theme "Rebuilding as a Future Regional Shopping Center." The first phase opened on December 6 for specialty floors (2-4F, part of 6F), and the second phase opened on March 6, 2003, for specialty floors (B1-1F, remaining 6F), JUSCO, and Kintetsu Department Store (part of B1-1F). The renovation incorporated know-how from Diamond City Car (now AEON Mall Kawaguchi Maekawa) and Diamond City Terrace (now AEON Mall Itami), introducing a 500-seat food court "FOOD OASIS" and strengthening young casual offerings. In 2003, the land, buildings, and leasehold rights were transferred to Japan Retail Fund Investment Corporation for 33.9 billion yen. In 2006, Diamond Family was absorbed into Diamond City after Kintetsu Railway withdrew, and Diamond City was absorbed into AEON Mall in 2007. In 2007, the first floor was renovated for about 200 million yen, and the rooftop was converted into a rooftop garden "Sky Garden" for about 100 million yen, featuring about 4,000 lavender plants, a 680 m² vegetable and wild herb garden, a 900 m² lawn zone, and an event stage. In 2009, floors 2 and 3 specialty zones were renovated. In 2011, JUSCO changed its name to AEON, and the logo changed from "JUSCO" to "ÆON." In April 2016, NaRaFamily began a full-scale renovation costing about 5 billion yen to transform from a suburban commercial facility to a high-quality commercial facility comparable to urban-style facilities. It reopened on November 1, 2016, with the environmental concept "Yamato Modern," expressing the beauty of Nara's Tenpyo culture in a modern way. The specialty store zone was expanded, and the new specialty store street "zoro" opened with 55 new stores, including brands new to Nara Prefecture. The logo was redesigned, incorporating the camel's hump as a graphic motif and brushstroke patterns reminiscent of Tenpyo culture, and the notation changed from "NaRaFamily" to "narafamily." The camel monument "TAKARAKUDA" was installed in the camel plaza, created by sculptor Ryuichi Ohira from a 200-year-old camphor tree. On February 28, 2018, the management and operation contract with AEON Mall ended, and from March 1, 2018, Sumisho Urban Development Co., Ltd. took over management and operation. The center remains active, with ongoing events and updates, including a rooftop renewal in 2026 according to the official website.

• 2024

  Camel card membership card abolished in December; replaced by NaRaFamily app.

• 2018

  Management and operation contract with AEON Mall ended; Sumisho Urban Development took over from March 1.

• 2016

  Full-scale renovation completed; reopened on November 1 with "Yamato Modern" concept and new "zoro" specialty zone.

• 2011

  JUSCO renamed AEON; logo changed to ÆON.

• 2007

  Diamond City absorbed into AEON Mall; rooftop converted to Sky Garden.

• 2006

  Diamond Family absorbed into Diamond City.

• 2003

  Land and buildings transferred to Japan Retail Fund Investment Corporation for 33.9 billion yen.

• 2002

  Full-scale renovation began; food court "FOOD OASIS" introduced.

• 1992

  Complete rebuild completed; reopened on November 14 as NaRaFamily with "Silk Road Fantasy" theme.

• 1972

  Opened on March 14 as Nara Family, Japan's first two-core suburban shopping center.

• 1970

  Diamond Family established as a joint venture between Diamond City and Kintetsu Department Store.

A regional shopping center evolving from a suburban two-core model to a high-quality urban-style commercial facility with a "Yamato Modern" concept, directly connected to a major railway station.

Product categories. Department store goods · General merchandise · Specialty fashion and goods · Food and dining · Cultural and public services

1. 1narafamily | ならファミリーnarafa.jp
2. 2NaRaFamily - Wikidatawikidata.org
3. 3ならファミリー - Wikipediaja.wikipedia.org