Kawara-dera is one of the oldest temples in Japan, though you would not guess it from what remains. It was founded in the seventh century in the Asuka district, and it appears in early records as a significant monastery, linked to the imperial family. In the Nihon Shoki, the early chronicle of Japan, the funeral rites for Empress Saimei were held here in the year 661, and the temple was said to have grown into a great complex with a pagoda and a lecture hall. Over the centuries, as the capital moved to Nara and then to Kyoto, it declined, and today only foundation stones, a smaller modern hall and open fields are left.
What gives the site its character is the scale of the foundation stones, which show how large the original buildings must have been, and the lotus flowers that bloom in the nearby ponds in summer. Walking among the stones you can read the plan of the old temple: the pagoda base, the golden hall, the lecture hall in a line, an arrangement borrowed from the Korean peninsula. Excavations have recovered roof tiles, including some of the earliest examples in Japan, with lotus patterns, and they are shown in local museums.
Riding to the temple is part of a quiet loop. The lanes are narrow and surfaced, with little traffic, and the surrounding rice paddies, vegetable plots and low hills keep a pleasant, unhurried feel. You will often share the road with walkers and cyclists, and a quiet engine and a gentle throttle go well with the setting. Sakurai and Kashihara, both within about five kilometres, offer fuel, supermarkets and a range of restaurants. In the village, there are small cafés and shops selling local produce, but they close early.
Seasonally, summer is hot, humid and loud with cicadas, and the lotus bloom in July and August is worth the heat if you start early. Autumn offers cool air, red leaves and golden fields, and spring brings cherry blossoms. Winter is cold but clear.
Near the temple site, the village of Asuka has a few tea houses where you can sit on tatami and drink green tea with a sweet bean cake, a simple pleasure after a morning on the bike. Remember that the area is used by locals, so keep the engine noise down.