Suketayama is another of the Furuichi tombs, set in the part of southeast Osaka where the old Yamato elite buried their dead beside the Ishikawa river and the broad Kawachi plain. The ride names the nearest town as Kashihara, but you are within sight of Habikino and Fujiidera and the commuter lines that bind this place to Osaka's centre. The mound here is smaller than the great keyhole tombs but has its own presence, a green hill in a district of tile roofs.
A thing worth knowing about these tombs is how they were treated afterwards. After the age of the great kings the mounds were no longer special, and over the centuries they became wood lots, orchards, paddies and in some cases the base of a medieval fort. Then in the Meiji period the state decided that the biggest were imperial tombs and fenced them off, which is why some are now untouched and silent while others have been dug and measured. Suketayama belongs to the smaller category, the type that archaeologists were allowed to study and local people were allowed to walk beside.
Traffic around here is dense and the lanes are narrow, so bring patience instead of a plan for speed. The riding value is in the context. Use a bike to hop from mound to mound, and enjoy the odd contrast between ancient earthworks and the modern suburb on all sides. Petrol stations are everywhere, and so are bakeries and noodle shops. Try udon in the Osaka style, with a light kelp broth and a soft fried tofu pouch, the kitsune udon that locals defend vigorously.
In the hills above the plain, toward the Kongo range, there are grape growers and small wineries, and the road up toward Kawachi Nagano has views back across the plain. Autumn is the best season, dry and clear, and spring is lovely for blossom. July and August are punishing.
Go on a weekday morning and you will often have the whole place to yourself, apart from a few cats and a gardener raking leaves.