Otorizuka Kofun and Kumano Sanzan - Kumano Hongû Taisha
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
322 km
Riding-time estimate
4 h 36
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.
322 km from Kashihara to Kashihara, about 4 h 36 of riding. It goes by way of Yoshino and Ômine - Ôminesan-ji, Kumano Sanzan - Kumano Hongû Taisha and back through Yoshino and Ômine - Ôminesan-ji. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 800 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Otorizuka Kofun
Otorizuka is a small mound, and its name, which seems to mean the bird mound, is lovely. What I do know is the setting: a plain south-east of Osaka that holds one of the greatest concentrations of burial mounds in the world, in the Furuichi group, and a small mound like this is part of the supporting cast, a tomb for a person of lower rank who wished to lie near a king.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Otorizuka Kofun is where the day begins. Next is Yoshino and Ômine - Ôminesan-ji.
2. Yoshino and Ômine - Ôminesan-ji
Ōminesan-ji is a temple on the summit of Mount Sanjō, one of the peaks of the Ōmine range in the heart of the Kii peninsula, and it holds a special place in Japanese religion. It is a centre of Shugendō, the mountain ascetic tradition that blends Buddhism, Shinto and older mountain worship, and its practitioners, the yamabushi, undergo arduous training on the ridges. The temple is famous for another reason too: the mountain is still closed to women by tradition, one of the last such places in Japan, which has become a subject of ongoing debate.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Yoshino and Ômine - Ôminesan-ji comes up about 68 km into the recorded legs. Next is Kumano Sanzan - Kumano Hongû Taisha.
3. Kumano Sanzan - Kumano Hongû Taisha
Deep in the mountains of the Kii Peninsula, where forested ridges fold one behind another like the scenery in a woodblock print, stands the head shrine of the Kumano faith. Kumano Hongū Taisha is one of the three grand shrines of Kumano, and for over a thousand years emperors, aristocrats and ordinary pilgrims have walked here along the network of mountain trails known as the Kumano Kodō, now part of the Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range listed by UNESCO.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Otorizuka Kofun. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Otorizuka Kofun to Yoshino and Ômine - Ôminesan-ji
Otorizuka Kofun → Yoshino and Ômine - Ôminesan-ji is 68 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Yoshino and Ômine - Ôminesan-ji to Kumano Sanzan - Kumano Hongû Taisha
Yoshino and Ômine - Ôminesan-ji → Kumano Sanzan - Kumano Hongû Taisha is 93 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Kumano Sanzan - Kumano Hongû Taisha to back through Yoshino and Ômine - Ôminesan-ji
Kumano Sanzan - Kumano Hongû Taisha → back through Yoshino and Ômine - Ôminesan-ji is 93 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Yoshino and Ômine - Ôminesan-ji to Otorizuka Kofun
back through Yoshino and Ômine - Ôminesan-ji → Otorizuka Kofun is 68 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.