Ryoan-ji and Nara Palace Site

Scenic road chapters

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Ryoan-ji

   Fifteen stones, a rectangle of raked white gravel, and an earthen wall stained by centuries of oil: that is all of Ryoan-ji's famous garden, and it has kept visitors quiet for five hundred years. The stones sit in five groups, set in beds of moss, and the clever thing, which every guidebook mentions and which is still a pleasure to test, is that from any seat on the temple veranda at least one stone is hidden from view. Nobody knows who made it or what it means. People have read tigers crossing the sea, islands in an ocean, mountains above clouds, or simply an exercise in emptiness. The temple belongs to the Rinzai school of Zen and was founded in the middle of the fifteenth century by a powerful warlord, Hosokawa Katsumoto.

   Read the complete Ryoan-ji write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Ryoan-ji is where the day begins. Next is Daigo-ji.

2. 2. 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 comes up about 18 km into the recorded legs. Next is Nara Palace Site.

3. 3. 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

   about 54 km into the recorded legs you reach Nara Palace Site. Next is back through Daigo-ji.

4. 4. back through Daigo-ji

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   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

   back through Daigo-ji, late in the day. Next is Ryoan-ji.

5. 5. Ryoan-ji

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Ryoan-ji write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Back at Ryoan-ji. That is the ride.