Why this ride
An 88 km round trip from Sakai - roughly 1 h 40 in the saddle. It goes by way of Buddhist Monuments in the Horyu-ji Area, Yashimazuka Kofun and back through Buddhist Monuments in the Horyu-ji Area.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Nagatsuka Kofun and Yashimazuka Kofun
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 88 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 1 h 40
- 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. Nagatsuka Kofun
Nagatsuka is another of the small tombs that dot Sakai's old Mozu cemetery, and it is a place to think about the city as a whole. Before it was a place of keyhole tombs it was already a harbour, and it remained one for centuries. In the sixteenth century Sakai was the greatest port in Japan and a self-governing merchant town, whose leading citizens negotiated with the warlords, imported guns and silk from abroad, and were among the first to meet Europeans. When Oda Nobunaga demanded a large sum of money from Sakai in 1568, the merchants eventually paid up and kept their trade, and the city became a source of firearms for his campaigns. Much of old Sakai was later burned and then flattened again in the Second World War, which is why so little remains.
Read the complete Nagatsuka Kofun write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Nagatsuka Kofun is where the day begins. Next is Buddhist Monuments in the Horyu-ji Area.
2. 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.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Buddhist Monuments in the Horyu-ji Area comes up about 28 km into the recorded legs. Next is Yashimazuka Kofun.
3. Yashimazuka Kofun
In the southeastern suburbs of Osaka, among houses, rice paddies and railway lines, rise wooded mounds surrounded by moats. These are kofun, burial mounds built for the elite of ancient Japan between the third and seventh centuries, and the Furuichi group around Fujiidera and Habikino contains some of the largest in the country. Yashimazuka is one of the smaller mounds in the group, standing close to much bigger keyhole-shaped tombs attributed to emperors and empresses. Together with the Mozu group in Sakai, these mounds were listed by UNESCO in 2019 as the Mozu-Furuichi Kofun Group.
Read the complete Yashimazuka Kofun write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 43 km into the recorded legs you reach Yashimazuka Kofun. Next is back through Buddhist Monuments in the Horyu-ji Area.
4. 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.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Buddhist Monuments in the Horyu-ji Area, late in the day. Next is Nagatsuka Kofun.
5. Nagatsuka Kofun
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Nagatsuka Kofun write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Nagatsuka Kofun. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Nagatsuka Kofun to Buddhist Monuments in the Horyu-ji Area
Nagatsuka Kofun → Buddhist Monuments in the Horyu-ji Area is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Buddhist Monuments in the Horyu-ji Area to Yashimazuka Kofun
Buddhist Monuments in the Horyu-ji Area → Yashimazuka Kofun is 15 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Yashimazuka Kofun to back through Buddhist Monuments in the Horyu-ji Area
Yashimazuka Kofun → back through Buddhist Monuments in the Horyu-ji Area is 15 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Buddhist Monuments in the Horyu-ji Area to Nagatsuka Kofun
back through Buddhist Monuments in the Horyu-ji Area → Nagatsuka Kofun is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.