The hidden haven of Nishi-Awa Step back into a land that time forgot Historical records tell us that in the twelfth century Heike Clan soldiers fled here after losing the Genpei War, but for nearly thousand years since then, the way of life in Nishia-Awa has changed little. The local food culture maintains its traditional focus on potatoes, buckwheat, and less-common cereal grains in place of rice or wheat. Because the villages are spread out like fans on the steep mountain slopes, inhabitants are called the “people of the sky.” Nishi-Awa’s eternal beauty gives it the air of a land that time forgot.