Tsukamawari Kofun and Tôdai-ji

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Tsukamawari Kofun

   Tsukamawari is easy to miss, a modest tomb among the larger ones in the Mozu cluster at Sakai, and it makes a good excuse for talking about the city's most famous product, the knife. Sakai has been a centre of blade making for centuries, and its craftsmen are said to have first made their name forging the tobacco knives that came into use in the sixteenth century, then turned to swords and finally to the kitchen blades that professional chefs treasure. Even today, many of the best Japanese kitchen knives carry a Sakai stamp, and the old workshops, some of them family firms, stand in the streets near the old harbour. A knife shop here is the sort of souvenir that you can pack in a pannier, though you will need to wrap it properly for travel.

   Read the complete Tsukamawari Kofun write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Tsukamawari Kofun is where the day begins. Next is Buddhist Monuments in the Horyu-ji Area.

2. 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 28 km into the recorded legs. Next is Tôdai-ji.

3. 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 46 km into the recorded legs you reach Tôdai-ji. Next is back through Buddhist Monuments in the Horyu-ji Area.

4. 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 Tsukamawari Kofun.

5. 5. Tsukamawari Kofun

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Tsukamawari Kofun write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Back at Tsukamawari Kofun. That is the ride.