Nagoya day out · Kiyomizu-dera

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Nagoya

   Nagoya is the city that builds cars, and it carries that practical, slightly modest air in everything. It is the fourth-largest city in Japan, with about two million people, and the home of Toyota, whose factories and museums lie in the surrounding plain. It sits between Tokyo and Osaka on the old Tokaido road, and although it lacks their fame, locals are proud of its food, its castle and its quiet confidence.

   Read the complete Nagoya write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Nagoya is where the day begins. Next is Enryaku-ji.

2. 2. Enryaku-ji

   Mount Hiei rises between Kyoto and Lake Biwa, and in 788 a young monk named Saichō built a small hermitage on its slopes. It grew into Enryaku-ji, the headquarters of the Tendai school of Buddhism and one of the most powerful religious institutions in Japanese history. Many of the founders of later Buddhist schools, including Hōnen, Shinran, Dōgen and Nichiren, studied here. At its height, the mountain held thousands of temples, and the monastery maintained an army of warrior monks who regularly descended on Kyoto to intimidate the court. In 1571, the warlord Oda Nobunaga, tired of their political meddling, attacked the mountain, burned the temples and killed thousands of people. The monastery was rebuilt in the following decades, and today its halls are spread across the forested summit in three main areas, connected by footpaths and roads. The main hall, the Konpon Chūdō, houses a lamp said to have burned continuously for over a thousand years. Enryaku-ji is part of the UNESCO listing of the Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto.

   Read the complete Enryaku-ji write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Enryaku-ji comes up about 131 km into the recorded legs. Next is Daigo-ji.

3. 3. Daigo-ji

   The oldest building in Kyoto does not stand in the city centre but in the southeastern hills, at the temple of Daigo-ji: a five storey pagoda completed in 951, which has survived fires, earthquakes and wars that destroyed almost everything else of its age in the city. The temple was founded in the ninth century on Mount Daigo, and its grounds spread from the foot of the mountain to the summit, linked by a steep path, with halls, gardens and sub temples along the way. It is part of the Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto World Heritage Site.

   Read the complete Daigo-ji write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   At least about 152 km into the recorded legs you reach Daigo-ji. Next is Jisho-ji.

4. 4. Jisho-ji

   Jisho-ji, known to most of the world as Ginkaku-ji, the Silver Pavilion, sits at the foot of the Higashiyama hills in the northeast of Kyoto. It began in the 1480s as the retirement villa of the shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa, a man who lost interest in governing during a period of civil collapse and devoted himself to art, tea and gardens instead. After his death it became a Zen temple. The pavilion was never actually covered in silver, despite the name, and visitors still argue about whether the plan was dropped for lack of money or for taste.

   Read the complete Jisho-ji write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Jisho-ji, about halfway. Next is Kiyomizu-dera.

5. 5. Kiyomizu-dera

   On the eastern hills of Kyoto, the great wooden veranda of Kiyomizu-dera juts out over a slope of maple and cherry, held up by a forest of pillars. The stage is about thirteen metres above the ground, and there is a Japanese saying, to jump off the stage of Kiyomizu, that means to take a bold, irreversible step. In the Edo period, people did really jump, hoping that survival would grant a wish, and a surprising number survived. The temple was founded in 778, and the present buildings date mainly from the 1630s, built without nails, using interlocking beams of Japanese zelkova and cypress.

   Read the complete Kiyomizu-dera write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Kiyomizu-dera sits at 168 km, about halfway. Next is back through Jisho-ji.

6. 6. back through Jisho-ji

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Jisho-ji write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Jisho-ji comes up about 177 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Daigo-ji.

7. 7. back through Daigo-ji

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Daigo-ji write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 189 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Daigo-ji. Next is back through Enryaku-ji.

8. 8. back through Enryaku-ji

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Enryaku-ji write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Enryaku-ji, late in the day. Next is Nagoya.

9. 9. Nagoya

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Nagoya write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   The route ends here after 343 km.