Why this ride
101 km from Nara-shi to Nara-shi, about 1 h 41 of riding. It goes by way of Fujiwara Palace Site, Yoshino and Ômine - Kimpusen-ji and back through Fujiwara Palace Site. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Nara Palace Site and Yoshino and Ômine - Kimpusen-ji
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 101 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 1 h 41
- 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
Nara Palace Site → Fujiwara Palace Site
This part of the ride is 27 km of Nara Palace Site → Fujiwara Palace Site.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 27 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. 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 is where the day begins. Next is Fujiwara Palace Site.
2. Fujiwara Palace Site
Before Nara, before Kyoto, there was Fujiwara-kyō. In 694, the Empress Jitō moved the Japanese court to a new capital in the southern part of the Nara basin, the first in Japan to be laid out on a Chinese-style grid of streets, with the imperial palace at its centre. It lasted only sixteen years, until the court moved north to Nara in 710, but it marked a turning point in the history of the Japanese state.
Read the complete Fujiwara Palace Site write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Fujiwara Palace Site comes up about 27 km into the recorded legs. Next is Yoshino and Ômine - Kimpusen-ji.
3. Yoshino and Ômine - Kimpusen-ji
Every April, the hillsides of Yoshino turn pink and white as tens of thousands of cherry trees burst into bloom, and the narrow ridge-top town fills with visitors who come to see one of Japan's most famous blossom displays. But Yoshino is more than a flower show. It is the heart of Shugendō, a mountain religion that blends Buddhism, Shinto and ancient nature worship, and the Kimpusen-ji temple, with its enormous wooden main hall, the Zaō-dō, is its spiritual centre. The temple is part of the Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range, listed by UNESCO in 2004.
Read the complete Yoshino and Ômine - Kimpusen-ji write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 50 km into the recorded legs you reach Yoshino and Ômine - Kimpusen-ji. Next is back through Fujiwara Palace Site.
4. back through Fujiwara Palace Site
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Fujiwara 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 Fujiwara Palace Site, late in the day. Next is Nara Palace Site.
5. 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 at Nara Palace Site. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Nara Palace Site to Fujiwara Palace Site
Nara Palace Site → Fujiwara Palace Site is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Fujiwara Palace Site to Yoshino and Ômine - Kimpusen-ji
Fujiwara Palace Site → Yoshino and Ômine - Kimpusen-ji is 23 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Yoshino and Ômine - Kimpusen-ji to back through Fujiwara Palace Site
Yoshino and Ômine - Kimpusen-ji → back through Fujiwara Palace Site is 23 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Fujiwara Palace Site to Nara Palace Site
back through Fujiwara Palace Site → Nara Palace Site is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.