Why this ride
A 354 km round trip from Kōya - roughly 7 h 05 in the saddle. On the way it passes Kôyasan - Niukanshôfu-jinja, Nisanzai Kofun, Yakushi-ji and Daigo-ji. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Pilgrimage Routes - Kumano Sankeimichi - K and Daigo-ji
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 354 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 7 h 05
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. 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. Pilgrimage Routes - Kumano Sankeimichi - K
Mount Kōya is one of Japan's great sacred places, a high basin in the mountains of northern Wakayama where the monk Kūkai founded a monastic centre for Shingon Buddhism in the early ninth century. Today it is a town of over a hundred temples, many of which take in overnight guests, set among towering cedars. South of the summit plateau, deep in the forested ridges, run the old pilgrim trails that link Kōya with the Kumano shrines, part of the network inscribed by UNESCO as the Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range.
Read the complete Pilgrimage Routes - Kumano Sankeimichi - K write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Pilgrimage Routes - Kumano Sankeimichi - K is where the day begins. Next is Kôyasan - Niukanshôfu-jinja.
2. Kôyasan - Niukanshôfu-jinja
In the foothills below Mount Kōya, in the village of Kudoyama, stands the Niukanshōfu shrine, dedicated to the deities who protect the sacred mountain. In the ninth century, the monk Kūkai, known after his death as Kōbō Daishi, founded a monastery on the plateau of Kōyasan as the centre of Shingon Buddhism, and he established an administrative office here, at the foot of the mountain, to manage the supply of the monastery. Nearby, the temple of Jison-in is associated with Kūkai's mother, who according to tradition lived here because women were not allowed on the mountain, and her son came down to visit her. The shrine and temple mark the start of the Chōishi-michi, the pilgrim path to Kōyasan, marked every 109 metres by stone posts, which climbs about twenty kilometres to the monastery. The sites are part of the UNESCO listing of the Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range.
Read the complete Kôyasan - Niukanshôfu-jinja write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Kôyasan - Niukanshôfu-jinja comes up 39 km in. Next is Nisanzai Kofun.
3. Nisanzai Kofun
In the middle of the sprawling city of Sakai, south of Osaka, a large keyhole-shaped mound rises above a ring of moats, covered in dense forest and surrounded by houses, roads and shops. This is the Nisanzai Kofun, a monumental tomb built in the fifth century for a member of the ruling elite of early Japan. It is one of the largest of the Mozu-Furuichi Kofun Group, a collection of burial mounds listed by UNESCO in 2019, which includes the enormous Daisen Kofun, traditionally attributed to the emperor Nintoku and one of the largest tombs in the world by area.
Read the complete Nisanzai Kofun write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
78 km in you reach Nisanzai Kofun. Next is Yakushi-ji.
4. Yakushi-ji
Yakushi-ji is one of the great temples of Nara, the capital of Japan in the eighth century. It was founded by Emperor Tenmu in the late seventh century, praying for the recovery of his ill empress, and moved to its present site when the capital moved to Nara in 710. Dedicated to Yakushi Nyorai, the Buddha of healing, it is part of the UNESCO-listed Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara. The East Pagoda, which has stood since the eighth century, is one of the few surviving buildings from that era, and its layered roofs, with smaller roofs between each storey, create a rhythm described by one admirer as frozen music.
Read the complete Yakushi-ji write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Yakushi-ji, about halfway. Next is Daigo-ji.
5. Daigo-ji
The oldest building in Kyoto does not stand in the city centre but in the southeastern hills, at the temple of Daigo-ji: a five storey pagoda completed in 951, which has survived fires, earthquakes and wars that destroyed almost everything else of its age in the city. The temple was founded in the ninth century on Mount Daigo, and its grounds spread from the foot of the mountain to the summit, linked by a steep path, with halls, gardens and sub temples along the way. It is part of the Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto World Heritage Site.
Read the complete Daigo-ji write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Daigo-ji sits at 156 km, about halfway. Next is back through Yakushi-ji.
6. back through Yakushi-ji
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Yakushi-ji write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Yakushi-ji comes up 194 km in. Next is back through Nisanzai Kofun.
7. back through Nisanzai Kofun
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Nisanzai Kofun write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
233 km in you reach back through Nisanzai Kofun. Next is back through Kôyasan - Niukanshôfu-jinja.
8. back through Kôyasan - Niukanshôfu-jinja
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Kôyasan - Niukanshôfu-jinja write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Kôyasan - Niukanshôfu-jinja, late in the day. Next is Pilgrimage Routes - Kumano Sankeimichi - K.
9. Pilgrimage Routes - Kumano Sankeimichi - K
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Pilgrimage Routes - Kumano Sankeimichi - K 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 354 km.
Leg by leg
Pilgrimage Routes - Kumano Sankeimichi - K to Kôyasan - Niukanshôfu-jinja
Pilgrimage Routes - Kumano Sankeimichi - K → Kôyasan - Niukanshôfu-jinja is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Kôyasan - Niukanshôfu-jinja to Nisanzai Kofun
Kôyasan - Niukanshôfu-jinja → Nisanzai Kofun is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Nisanzai Kofun to Yakushi-ji
Nisanzai Kofun → Yakushi-ji is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Yakushi-ji to Daigo-ji
Yakushi-ji → Daigo-ji is 43 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Daigo-ji to back through Yakushi-ji
Daigo-ji → back through Yakushi-ji is 43 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Yakushi-ji to back through Nisanzai Kofun
back through Yakushi-ji → back through Nisanzai Kofun is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Nisanzai Kofun to back through Kôyasan - Niukanshôfu-jinja
back through Nisanzai Kofun → back through Kôyasan - Niukanshôfu-jinja is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Kôyasan - Niukanshôfu-jinja to Pilgrimage Routes - Kumano Sankeimichi - K
back through Kôyasan - Niukanshôfu-jinja → Pilgrimage Routes - Kumano Sankeimichi - K is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.