The Nara basin is dotted with burial mounds, called kofun, and they are the oldest big monuments of the Japanese state. Between the third and the seventh centuries, rulers and their clans were buried in earthen mounds, some shaped like a keyhole, some round and some square, surrounded by moats and decorated with rows of clay figures called haniwa. The famous giant tombs are in Osaka, but Nara holds some of the earliest and the later stone-chambered ones, and the area around Asuka and Kashihara has several.
Most of these mounds are now covered in trees and grass, with a path around the moat, and some are protected by the Imperial Household Agency, which restricts access to those it identifies as imperial graves. Others are open and free to visit, with an information board and a quiet walk around the perimeter, often with a pond or reed bed beside it.
The country around is gentle, with fields, orchards of persimmon and pear, and views of the Yamato mountains. Kashihara is a city of over a hundred and twenty thousand people, and the main shrine, Kashihara Jingu, stands at the foot of Mount Unebi, dedicated to the legendary first emperor, Jimmu. The roads here are flat, straight in the modern parts and narrow in the old villages, and traffic can be heavy around the city, with frequent traffic lights and many cyclists. Fuel, convenience stores, restaurants and bike shops are easy to find.
The rhythm of the day suits cycling better than motorcycling, and many visitors hire a bike and pedal from mound to mound. If you are on a motorbike, park carefully, as farm lanes are narrow and soft at the edge, and be respectful of private land, since many tombs lie close to houses.
Autumn is the loveliest time, with clear skies and golden fields, while spring brings blossom. The summer rainy season is wet, and summers are hot and humid. Take water and a hat, and linger at the edge of the moat, where herons and kingfishers fish in the stillness.