Tsukamawari is easy to miss, a modest tomb among the larger ones in the Mozu cluster at Sakai, and it makes a good excuse for talking about the city's most famous product, the knife. Sakai has been a centre of blade making for centuries, and its craftsmen are said to have first made their name forging the tobacco knives that came into use in the sixteenth century, then turned to swords and finally to the kitchen blades that professional chefs treasure. Even today, many of the best Japanese kitchen knives carry a Sakai stamp, and the old workshops, some of them family firms, stand in the streets near the old harbour. A knife shop here is the sort of souvenir that you can pack in a pannier, though you will need to wrap it properly for travel.
The burial mounds, meanwhile, are the work of an earlier age. The Mozu tombs date from the fifth century and were built for the rulers of the Yamato state and their families. Small tombs like this one are generally thought to have been for members of the elite who served the great king, and they were often built close to the main mound. You will probably see a small hill covered in pines and a strip of water, with a signboard in Japanese and English that explains the history.
The setting is a city of nearly eight hundred thousand people. The roads are busy with commuter traffic, and the narrow lanes between the tombs and the houses are best taken slowly, with a watchful eye for cyclists, delivery vans and school children. The city is flat, with few views, and the air in summer is heavy and humid. Rain in June and heavy rain in September are typical, so check the forecast.
Fuel, like everything else here, is very easy to find, and convenience stores are open at all hours. For a good lunch, look for kitsune udon, noodles with sweet fried tofu, a Kansai speciality, or a plate of okonomiyaki in one of the casual restaurants.
Leave time to wander the park in the evening, when the streets quieten and the dark water of the moat catches the last of the light.