Jisho-ji and Nara Palace Site

Scenic road chapters

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. 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 is where the day begins. Next is Ujigami-jinja.

2. 2. Ujigami-jinja

   Uji is a small city on the river of the same name, south of Kyoto, and it holds two treasures that face each other across the water. On the west bank stands the Byōdō-in, a temple whose Phoenix Hall, built in 1053, appears on the Japanese ten-yen coin. On the east bank, up a quiet lane, is Ujigami-jinja, a modest shrine whose main hall is considered the oldest surviving Shinto shrine building in Japan, dating from the late Heian period, in the eleventh century. Its simple wooden structure, with a cypress-bark roof, stands in a small courtyard surrounded by trees, and it is far less crowded than the Byōdō-in. Both are part of the UNESCO listing of the Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto.

   Read the complete Ujigami-jinja write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Ujigami-jinja comes up about 22 km into the recorded legs. Next is Nara Palace Site.

3. 3. Nara Palace Site

   For most of the eighth century, Nara was the capital of Japan. The city, then called Heijō-kyō, was laid out on a grid modelled on the Chinese capital Chang'an, and at its northern end stood the imperial palace, Heijō-kyū, a vast compound of halls, offices and gardens. When the court moved away at the end of the century, the palace was abandoned and the land eventually returned to rice fields. Today the Nara Palace Site is a huge open space on the western side of the modern city, part of the UNESCO-listed Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara.

   Read the complete Nara Palace Site write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   about 52 km into the recorded legs you reach Nara Palace Site. Next is back through Ujigami-jinja.

4. 4. back through Ujigami-jinja

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Ujigami-jinja write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   back through Ujigami-jinja, late in the day. Next is Jisho-ji.

5. 5. 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 at Jisho-ji. That is the ride.