Nabezuka is a modest mound in the Kashihara district of Nara prefecture, in the part of Japan where the country's first centralised state took shape. It is the sort of site that does not make the headlines. A rounded hill in a field, perhaps with a few trees, it belongs to the thousands of burial mounds scattered across the Yamato plain, and its main interest is that it forms part of a whole landscape of tombs rather than being a single sight. If you want the big picture, the archaeological museum in Kashihara explains how the mounds changed from large keyholes to small round or square tombs as the centuries passed.
South of Kashihara the land leads towards Asuka, the cradle of the Japanese state in the sixth and seventh centuries, where you can see stone burial chambers like the Ishibutai tomb, a huge corbelled mound of granite blocks. The change from the earth mounds to stone-lined chambers marks the end of the kofun age and the arrival of Buddhism, and by the early eighth century the court had moved to Nara. A few kilometres of country lane here take you through a thousand years of history.
The riding is quiet and gentle. Rice paddies and small orchards cover the flat parts, and the lanes between them are narrow and sometimes unmarked. In June the paddies are flooded and reflect the sky, and in autumn they turn gold. Traffic is light outside the commuting hours, though trucks use the main roads, and local drivers are patient with bikes. Be cautious at blind corners where irrigation channels run close to the road. If you want more twists, the Nara mountains to the east, with cedar forests and tight bends, are not far.
Kashihara has about eighty thousand people and offers plenty of fuel and meals. Persimmon and strawberry are local crops, and the kakinoha sushi, wrapped in persimmon leaves, is a specialty of the region. Spring has cherry blossom and autumn has fine light, while July and August are hot and heavy with cicadas.