The Gobyoyama tomb is the resting place attributed to Emperor Richu, the seventeenth emperor in the traditional count, and it is a giant: a keyhole-shaped mound in Sakai more than three hundred metres long, one of the biggest in the whole country. It was built in the late fourth or early fifth century, and its builders moved an enormous amount of earth. Surfaces were covered with fitted stones, and rows of haniwa figures stood on the terraces, so that in its day the whole mound would have gleamed like a stepped pyramid.
What makes the tomb interesting is the clay figures. Haniwa began as simple cylinders and developed into models of houses, boats, horses, warriors, falconers and women with offerings, and they give us a rare glimpse of the daily life of the early Yamato court, since no written records survive from the period. The tomb is managed by the Imperial Household Agency, which restricts entry, so most of it is seen from a path on the moat's edge. You see a wooded hill and a ring of water where egrets stand like statues.
The riding around Gobyoyama is city riding. Roads are wide where the old tomb avenues were laid and tight where homes press close, and tram tracks and level crossings are not unusual. There are small parking areas for motorcycles near some of the larger tombs, and it is easy to walk around the moat, a circuit that takes the better part of an hour. Weekdays are quiet, and weekends see locals walking, cycling and fishing at the edge of the moat.
Sakai has all the services you would expect from a big city. In the evening an izakaya with grilled skewers and beer is a good place to finish. Spring and autumn bring the kinder weather, with clear skies and gentle temperatures, while summer can be oppressive and rainy. If you want to see the whole shape of the tomb, the observation deck at the city hall of Sakai gives a distant view, and from there the other tombs of the group can be spotted among the roofs.