CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
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.
91 km from Sakai to Sakai, about 1 h 51 of riding. On the way it passes Buddhist Monuments in the Horyu-ji Area, Tôdai-ji and back through Buddhist Monuments in the Horyu-ji Area. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
A tomb moat is a pond with a purpose, and over the centuries it has become something else: a habitat. Genemonyama Kofun is another of the Sakai mounds, and what strikes you first is the water, dark green and quiet, with lotus pads in summer, ducks in winter and grey herons standing at the edge. The moats were dug to separate the tomb from the world and to supply earth for the mound, and farmers later used the water for irrigation, so that the tombs became part of the local water system. Today they shelter fish, turtles, kingfishers and a surprising amount of insect life.
Read the complete Genemonyama Kofun write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Genemonyama Kofun is where the day begins. Next is Buddhist Monuments in the Horyu-ji Area.
If you want to stand in front of the oldest wooden buildings in the world, this is the place. Hōryū-ji, a Buddhist temple in the town of Ikaruga south-west of Nara, was founded by Prince Shōtoku in the early seventh century, and although it burned and was rebuilt not long after, its central buildings, including the main hall and the five-storey pagoda, date from around the end of the seventh century. They were among the first sites in Japan inscribed by UNESCO, in 1993.
Read the complete Buddhist Monuments in the Horyu-ji Area write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Buddhist Monuments in the Horyu-ji Area comes up about 27 km into the recorded legs. Next is 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.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
about 45 km into the recorded legs you reach Tôdai-ji. Next is back through Buddhist Monuments in the Horyu-ji Area.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Buddhist Monuments in the Horyu-ji Area write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Buddhist Monuments in the Horyu-ji Area, late in the day. Next is Genemonyama Kofun.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Genemonyama Kofun write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Back at Genemonyama Kofun. That is the ride.
Genemonyama Kofun → Buddhist Monuments in the Horyu-ji Area is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Buddhist Monuments in the Horyu-ji Area → Tôdai-ji is 18 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Tôdai-ji → back through Buddhist Monuments in the Horyu-ji Area is 18 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Buddhist Monuments in the Horyu-ji Area → Genemonyama Kofun is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.