Why this ride
A 71 km round trip from Kashihara - roughly 1 h 28 in the saddle. On the way it passes Buddhist Monuments in the Horyu-ji Area, Tôdai-ji and back through Buddhist Monuments in the Horyu-ji Area. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Tsudo-shiroyama Kofun and Tôdai-ji
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 71 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 1 h 28
- 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. Tsudo-shiroyama Kofun
On the plain south-east of Osaka, among suburbs, railway lines and car dealerships, the land is dotted with huge grassy mounds shaped like keyholes, surrounded by water-filled moats, and covered in trees. They are kofun, the burial mounds of Japan's early rulers and aristocrats, and the Tsudoshiroyama Kofun is one of them, in the Furuichi group, about two kilometres from the town of Kashiwara and not far from Habikino and Fujiidera. The group, together with the Mozu group in Sakai, was inscribed by UNESCO in 2019.
Read the complete Tsudo-shiroyama Kofun write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Tsudo-shiroyama 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 17 km into the recorded legs. Next is Tôdai-ji.
3. Tôdai-ji
Nothing quite prepares you for the scale of Tōdai-ji. You walk through the great Nandaimon gate, past two fierce wooden guardian kings carved in the thirteenth century by Unkei, Kaikei and their workshop, and there it is: the Daibutsuden, the Great Buddha Hall, for centuries the largest wooden building in the world, even though the current structure, rebuilt in the early eighteenth century, is smaller than the original. Inside sits the Daibutsu, a bronze Buddha some fifteen metres tall, commissioned by Emperor Shōmu and consecrated in 752 with a ceremony that drew monks from as far away as India. The temple is part of the UNESCO listing of Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara.
Read the complete Tôdai-ji write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 35 km into the recorded legs you reach Tôdai-ji. Next is back through Buddhist Monuments in the Horyu-ji Area.
4. 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, late in the day. Next is Tsudo-shiroyama Kofun.
5. Tsudo-shiroyama Kofun
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Tsudo-shiroyama Kofun write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Tsudo-shiroyama Kofun. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Tsudo-shiroyama Kofun to Buddhist Monuments in the Horyu-ji Area
Tsudo-shiroyama Kofun → Buddhist Monuments in the Horyu-ji Area is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Buddhist Monuments in the Horyu-ji Area to Tôdai-ji
Buddhist Monuments in the Horyu-ji Area → Tôdai-ji is 18 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Tôdai-ji to back through Buddhist Monuments in the Horyu-ji Area
Tôdai-ji → back through Buddhist Monuments in the Horyu-ji Area is 18 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Buddhist Monuments in the Horyu-ji Area to Tsudo-shiroyama Kofun
back through Buddhist Monuments in the Horyu-ji Area → Tsudo-shiroyama Kofun is 18 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.