Sitting in a quiet field in Asuka is a carved piece of granite that has puzzled people for centuries. Sakafuneishi, the sake boat stone, is a granite block about five metres long, with a shallow basin and a channel cut into the top, and it looks like a boat, which is where the name comes from. It was carved in the seventh century and probably belonged to a ritual or water-related setting, perhaps used for purification ceremonies or for the supply of water in a nearby garden or palace. Nobody knows for sure, and that is part of its appeal.
Asuka has several of these mysterious stone objects, scattered among the fields, and they have become famous. Besides the boat-shaped stone, there are carved tortoise stones, a stone figure said to represent a man and woman, and another stone with a peculiar curved surface. They are probably the remains of a garden or ceremonial space, built for the court of the time with exotic foreign influences, since stonework like this was rare in Japan then and may reflect contacts with the Korean peninsula and China.
The ride to Sakafuneishi is a slow, local one. The lanes are tiny, with little traffic apart from farm vehicles and cyclists, and the land is gently rolling, with rice terraces, bamboo groves and low wooded hills. Roads can be rough at the edge and there are hidden ditches, so keep to the middle and ride slowly. Sakurai is the nearest large town, and Kashihara is also close, so fuel, food and convenience stores are plentiful there, while the village has little beyond a couple of small shops.
The weather is humid, with a rainy season in June and early July and typhoons in late summer and early autumn. Spring blossoms and autumn colours are the best seasons, and clear winter days give crisp views of the surrounding mountains.
It is worth noting that Asuka is a living village, not a museum, and local residents may be tending their fields near the sites, so a polite greeting goes a long way. Finish with a walk along the field paths to the next stone, and enjoy the quiet, with the scent of earth and hay.