Why this ride
172 km from Sakai to Sakai, about 2 h 58 of riding. It goes by way of Buddhist Monuments in the Horyu-ji Area, Tachibana-dera Temple Site, Hokki-ji Area and back through Tachibana-dera Temple Site.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Shichikannon Kofun and Hokki-ji Area
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 172 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 58
- 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. Shichikannon Kofun
Haniwa are the clue to this place. These clay cylinders and figures, shaped as houses, horses, warriors and dancers, were set around the slopes of the great Japanese tombs to guard the dead, and replicas of them now stand in parks and museums in Sakai. Shichikannon is a mound from that world, one of the numerous burial sites in the city that became a World Heritage property in 2019, and as with its neighbours you appreciate it from outside the moat. The lawn, the trees and the water do most of the talking.
Read the complete Shichikannon Kofun write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Shichikannon 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 29 km into the recorded legs. Next is Tachibana-dera Temple Site.
3. Tachibana-dera Temple Site
Asuka is where Japan as a state began to take shape, and Tachibana-dera sits right in the middle of it, among rice paddies and low hills in a small valley south of Nara. Tradition holds that Prince Shōtoku, the regent who promoted Buddhism and wrote Japan's first constitution in the early seventh century, was born here, and the temple claims to have been founded by him. The present buildings are much later, but the site is ancient, and the atmosphere of the quiet temple grounds, with their wooden halls, gravel courtyards and a curious stone carved with two faces, one good and one evil, is very special.
Read the complete Tachibana-dera Temple Site write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 57 km into the recorded legs you reach Tachibana-dera Temple Site. Next is Hokki-ji Area.
4. Hokki-ji Area
Ikaruga, a quiet town on the western edge of the Nara basin, is where Japanese Buddhist architecture begins. The temple of Hōryū-ji, founded by Prince Shōtoku in the early seventh century, has wooden buildings counted among the oldest surviving in the world, and in 1993 the Buddhist Monuments in the Hōryū-ji Area became, along with Himeji Castle, the first Japanese sites on the UNESCO list. A short distance north, among rice fields and houses, Hokki-ji is a smaller temple with a single treasure: a three-storey pagoda completed in the early eighth century, the oldest of its type in Japan. Seen across the fields with the hills behind, it is a lovely, peaceful sight.
Read the complete Hokki-ji Area write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Hokki-ji Area, about halfway. Next is back through Tachibana-dera Temple Site.
5. back through Tachibana-dera Temple Site
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Tachibana-dera Temple Site write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Tachibana-dera Temple Site sits at 109 km, about halfway. Next is back through Buddhist Monuments in the Horyu-ji Area.
6. 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 comes up about 142 km into the recorded legs. Next is Shichikannon Kofun.
7. Shichikannon Kofun
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Shichikannon Kofun write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Shichikannon Kofun closes the day.
Leg by leg
Shichikannon Kofun to Buddhist Monuments in the Horyu-ji Area
Shichikannon Kofun → Buddhist Monuments in the Horyu-ji Area is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Buddhist Monuments in the Horyu-ji Area to Tachibana-dera Temple Site
Buddhist Monuments in the Horyu-ji Area → Tachibana-dera Temple Site is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Tachibana-dera Temple Site to Hokki-ji Area
Tachibana-dera Temple Site → Hokki-ji Area is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Hokki-ji Area to back through Tachibana-dera Temple Site
Hokki-ji Area → back through Tachibana-dera Temple Site is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Tachibana-dera Temple Site to back through Buddhist Monuments in the Horyu-ji Area
back through Tachibana-dera Temple Site → back through Buddhist Monuments in the Horyu-ji Area is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Buddhist Monuments in the Horyu-ji Area to Shichikannon Kofun
back through Buddhist Monuments in the Horyu-ji Area → Shichikannon Kofun is 30 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.