Why this ride
From Kyoto it runs 272 km to Kyoto; allow about 5 h 06 of riding. It goes by way of Nara Palace Site, Kengoshizuka Mounded Tomb, Tôdai-ji and Higashiumazuka Kofun. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Kiyomizu-dera and Higashiumazuka Kofun
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 272 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 5 h 06
- 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.
Scenic road chapters
Kiyomizu-dera → Nara Palace Site
This part of the ride is 40 km of Kiyomizu-dera → Nara Palace Site.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 40 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. 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 is where the day begins. Next is Nara Palace Site.
2. 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
Nara Palace Site comes up about 40 km into the recorded legs. Next is Kengoshizuka Mounded Tomb.
3. Kengoshizuka Mounded Tomb
In the gentle hills of Asuka, south of Nara, the first capitals of Japan rose and fell in the sixth and seventh centuries, and the land is still dotted with the tombs of the powerful. Kengoshizuka is one of them, a mound on a low ridge that excavations revealed to be octagonal in shape, a form used for imperial tombs in that period. Inside were found twin burial chambers cut from stone, and many scholars believe it to be the tomb of Empress Saimei, who reigned twice in the seventh century, with her daughter buried beside her. Restoration work in recent years has given the mound back its original shape, faced with stones, so it is far more legible than many overgrown kofun.
Read the complete Kengoshizuka Mounded Tomb write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 73 km into the recorded legs you reach Kengoshizuka Mounded Tomb. 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 Higashiumazuka Kofun.
5. Higashiumazuka Kofun
The Yamato basin, in the middle of Nara prefecture, is where Japan's early rulers raised their great earthen tombs, and Kashihara sits at the heart of it. Around the third and fourth centuries and for several hundred years afterward, the leaders of the Yamato court were buried under mounds, many in a distinctive keyhole shape, a round tomb joined to a trapezoidal front. These are the kofun, which simply means old mound. They were ringed with clay cylinders called haniwa, some formed into the shapes of houses, horses, warriors and dancers, and many were surrounded by moats.
Read the complete Higashiumazuka Kofun write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Higashiumazuka Kofun sits at 147 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 167 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Kengoshizuka Mounded Tomb.
7. back through Kengoshizuka Mounded Tomb
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Kengoshizuka Mounded Tomb write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 198 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Kengoshizuka Mounded Tomb. Next is back through Nara Palace Site.
8. back through Nara Palace Site
Return visit. Read the place description above.
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
back through Nara Palace Site, late in the day. Next is Kiyomizu-dera.
9. Kiyomizu-dera
Return visit. Read the place description above.
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
The route ends here after 272 km.
Leg by leg
Kiyomizu-dera to Nara Palace Site
Kiyomizu-dera → Nara Palace Site is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Nara Palace Site to Kengoshizuka Mounded Tomb
Nara Palace Site → Kengoshizuka Mounded Tomb is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Kengoshizuka Mounded Tomb to Tôdai-ji
Kengoshizuka Mounded Tomb → Tôdai-ji is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Tôdai-ji to Higashiumazuka Kofun
Tôdai-ji → Higashiumazuka Kofun is 32 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Higashiumazuka Kofun to back through Tôdai-ji
Higashiumazuka Kofun → back through Tôdai-ji is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Tôdai-ji to back through Kengoshizuka Mounded Tomb
back through Tôdai-ji → back through Kengoshizuka Mounded Tomb is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Kengoshizuka Mounded Tomb to back through Nara Palace Site
back through Kengoshizuka Mounded Tomb → back through Nara Palace Site is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Nara Palace Site to Kiyomizu-dera
back through Nara Palace Site → Kiyomizu-dera is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.