On the plain south-east of Osaka, among suburbs, railway lines and car dealerships, the land is dotted with huge grassy mounds shaped like keyholes, surrounded by water-filled moats, and covered in trees. They are kofun, the burial mounds of Japan's early rulers and aristocrats, and the Tsudoshiroyama Kofun is one of them, in the Furuichi group, about two kilometres from the town of Kashiwara and not far from Habikino and Fujiidera. The group, together with the Mozu group in Sakai, was inscribed by UNESCO in 2019.
The mounds were built between about the late third and the late sixth centuries, when powerful chieftains of the Yamato kingdom controlled the plain, and the largest, the tomb attributed to Emperor Nintoku in Sakai, is one of the biggest burial structures in the world by volume. Tsudoshiroyama is a keyhole mound of about two hundred metres in length, and it sits next to several others, so that the whole area is a necropolis laid out beside the old harbour and road networks. The surface was once covered in stone and decorated with clay figures called haniwa, which stood in rows on the slopes, and many have been found by archaeologists. Because the mounds are imperial or protected property, you cannot walk on most of them, but the moats and the shape are visible from paths at the edge.
It is an odd place for a motorcycle ride. This is dense urban Japan, with narrow streets, one-way systems, traffic lights every hundred metres and little parking, and it is best taken slowly. The old road routes of the Kawachi plain pass through, and the hills of Mount Nijo and the Katsuragi range, a short ride to the east and south, offer much better roads, with winding mountain passes and old temples. Rain is common in the early summer, and the heat and humidity of July and August are punishing, so ride in the morning or choose spring and autumn.
Fuel stations, convenience stores and vending machines are everywhere, and a bowl of udon or a plate of Osaka-style okonomiyaki is easy to find. Several of the surrounding towns, including Habikino, have small museums on the kofun, and the Furuichi group has a visitor information office worth consulting for the best viewing spots.