Why this ride
77 km from Osaka to Osaka, about 1 h 52 of riding. On the way it passes Gangô-ji, Kôfuku-ji, Tôdai-ji and Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Osaka day out · Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 77 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 1 h 52
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Osaka
Osaka runs on appetite. It is Japan's third-largest city, with some two and a half million people, and for centuries it was the nation's kitchen, the place where rice from the whole country was traded and where merchants made fortunes and lived well. The local motto kuidaore, eat until you drop, is not a boast so much as a way of life, and you will see it in the neon crabs and puffer fish along Dotonbori.
Read the complete Osaka write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Osaka is where the day begins. Next is Gangô-ji.
2. Gangô-ji
Nara lives in the shadow of its grand temples, Todai-ji and Kofuku-ji, but Gango-ji is the one with the best sense of age. It started life in Asuka, in the late sixth century, as Asuka-dera, the first true Buddhist temple in Japan, founded by the powerful Soga clan. When the capital moved to Heijo-kyo in the early eighth century, the monks followed, and the temple was rebuilt on a new site in what is now the Naramachi district, with some of the original roof tiles carried across the plain and reused. You can still pick out the older, darker tiles on the roof of the main hall, a faint line of continuity across thirteen centuries.
Read the complete Gangô-ji write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Gangô-ji comes up about 33 km into the recorded legs. Next is Kôfuku-ji.
3. Kôfuku-ji
In the early eighth century, when Nara became Japan's first permanent capital, the powerful Fujiwara clan moved their family temple here, and Kofuku-ji became one of the great temples of the city, wealthy enough to maintain its own warrior monks. Its five storey pagoda, rebuilt in the fifteenth century after one of several fires, is the second tallest wooden pagoda in Japan and a symbol of Nara, reflected in the Sarusawa pond below. The Central Golden Hall was rebuilt and reopened in 2018, and the National Treasure Museum holds the famous statue of Ashura, a three faced, six armed guardian with a strikingly human expression. Kofuku-ji is part of the Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara World Heritage Site. The pagoda is undergoing a long restoration and may be wrapped in scaffolding when you visit.
Read the complete Kôfuku-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 34 km into the recorded legs you reach Kôfuku-ji. Next is Tôdai-ji.
4. Tôdai-ji
Nothing quite prepares you for the scale of Tōdai-ji. You walk through the great Nandaimon gate, past two fierce wooden guardian kings carved in the thirteenth century by Unkei, Kaikei and their workshop, and there it is: the Daibutsuden, the Great Buddha Hall, for centuries the largest wooden building in the world, even though the current structure, rebuilt in the early eighteenth century, is smaller than the original. Inside sits the Daibutsu, a bronze Buddha some fifteen metres tall, commissioned by Emperor Shōmu and consecrated in 752 with a ceremony that drew monks from as far away as India. The temple is part of the UNESCO listing of Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara.
Read the complete Tôdai-ji write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Tôdai-ji, about halfway. Next is Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara.
5. Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara
Nara was Japan's capital for only seventy-four years, from 710 to 784, but it left a mark out of all proportion to the time. The court modelled the new city on Chang'an, the Chinese capital, with a grid of streets and a palace at the north, and it was here that Buddhism took root as the state religion, that the first histories and poetry anthologies were compiled, and that the great temples were built. Eight monuments are included in the World Heritage listing: Todai-ji, Kofuku-ji, Kasuga Taisha, Gango-ji, Yakushi-ji, Toshodai-ji, the site of Heijo Palace and the Kasugayama Primeval Forest.
Read the complete Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara sits at 45 km, about halfway. Next is back through Tôdai-ji.
6. back through Tôdai-ji
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Tôdai-ji write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Tôdai-ji comes up about 40 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Kôfuku-ji.
7. back through Kôfuku-ji
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Kôfuku-ji write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 42 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Kôfuku-ji. Next is back through Gangô-ji.
8. back through Gangô-ji
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Gangô-ji write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Gangô-ji, late in the day. Next is Osaka.
9. Osaka
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Osaka 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 77 km.
Leg by leg
Osaka to Gangô-ji
Osaka → Gangô-ji is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Gangô-ji to Osaka
back through Gangô-ji → Osaka is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.