Why this ride
60 km from Sakai to Sakai, about 1 h 17 of riding. It goes by way of Higashiumazuka Kofun, Horyu-ji Area and back through Higashiumazuka Kofun. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Terayama-minamiyama Kofun and Horyu-ji Area
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 60 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 1 h 17
- 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. Terayama-minamiyama Kofun
Sakai is a port city on Osaka Bay, and its most extraordinary feature is that it is built around tombs. The Mozu group, named after the old name of this district, includes Daisen, the tomb attributed to Emperor Nintoku, which is among the largest burial monuments in the world by area, a keyhole-shaped mound nearly five hundred metres long, surrounded by triple moats. Standing beside it you see only a wooded hill behind a wall of water, and the true shape is visible only from the air. Smaller mounds, including those at Terayama and Minamiyama, lie scattered among streets and houses, each with a fringe of trees.
Read the complete Terayama-minamiyama Kofun write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Terayama-minamiyama Kofun is where the day begins. Next is Higashiumazuka Kofun.
2. Higashiumazuka Kofun
The Yamato basin, in the middle of Nara prefecture, is where Japan's early rulers raised their great earthen tombs, and Kashihara sits at the heart of it. Around the third and fourth centuries and for several hundred years afterward, the leaders of the Yamato court were buried under mounds, many in a distinctive keyhole shape, a round tomb joined to a trapezoidal front. These are the kofun, which simply means old mound. They were ringed with clay cylinders called haniwa, some formed into the shapes of houses, horses, warriors and dancers, and many were surrounded by moats.
Read the complete Higashiumazuka Kofun write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Higashiumazuka Kofun comes up about 14 km into the recorded legs. Next is Horyu-ji Area.
3. Hōryū-ji Area
The buildings at Hōryū-ji are around thirteen hundred years old, and some of them are among the oldest wooden structures anywhere in the world. Founded in the early seventh century by Prince Shōtoku, a regent remembered as a champion of Buddhism and a founding figure of the Japanese state, the temple was rebuilt after a fire later in the same century, and parts of that rebuilding still stand. In 1993 it became one of the first sites in Japan to be listed by UNESCO, as the Buddhist Monuments in the Hōryū-ji Area.
Read the complete Horyu-ji Area write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 30 km into the recorded legs you reach Horyu-ji Area. Next is back through Higashiumazuka Kofun.
4. back through Higashiumazuka Kofun
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Higashiumazuka Kofun write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Higashiumazuka Kofun, late in the day. Next is Terayama-minamiyama Kofun.
5. Terayama-minamiyama Kofun
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Terayama-minamiyama Kofun write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Terayama-minamiyama Kofun. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Terayama-minamiyama Kofun to Higashiumazuka Kofun
Terayama-minamiyama Kofun → Higashiumazuka Kofun is 14 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Higashiumazuka Kofun to Horyu-ji Area
Higashiumazuka Kofun → Horyu-ji Area is 16 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Hōryū-ji Area to back through Higashiumazuka Kofun
Hōryū-ji Area → back through Higashiumazuka Kofun is 16 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Higashiumazuka Kofun to Terayama-minamiyama Kofun
back through Higashiumazuka Kofun → Terayama-minamiyama Kofun is 14 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.