Nagatsuka is another of the small tombs that dot Sakai's old Mozu cemetery, and it is a place to think about the city as a whole. Before it was a place of keyhole tombs it was already a harbour, and it remained one for centuries. In the sixteenth century Sakai was the greatest port in Japan and a self-governing merchant town, whose leading citizens negotiated with the warlords, imported guns and silk from abroad, and were among the first to meet Europeans. When Oda Nobunaga demanded a large sum of money from Sakai in 1568, the merchants eventually paid up and kept their trade, and the city became a source of firearms for his campaigns. Much of old Sakai was later burned and then flattened again in the Second World War, which is why so little remains.
The tombs, by contrast, survived because they were considered sacred ground, and the modern city has grown right up to the moats. A mound like Nagatsuka often sits quietly between houses and a school ground, with a pine tree or two, a stone marker, and a sign that explains it in two languages. The contrast makes a rewarding walk, and it takes only a few minutes.
The ride list from here leads to Todai-ji in Nara, home of the Great Buddha, a bronze statue nearly fifteen metres high in one of the largest wooden buildings in the world. The way there crosses the Kongo hills and takes you through Nara's quiet streets, where deer roam the park and will sometimes block the road. Plan for slow riding at the park, as the animals are very tame and not at all afraid of motorbikes.
For fuel and food, Sakai has everything, and there are stations on the major roads leading to the hills. A bowl of udon or a plate of takoyaki, the octopus balls of Osaka, will carry you to Nara.
Be there on a quiet morning, when the heat has not yet built and the park is almost empty. The only sounds are birds and the hum of a distant train.