Mount Shigi Nara Traditiional Inn Sweets

奈良信貴山旅館のお茶と和菓子

Divine.

On a Golden Week trip to an inn atop Mount Shigi in rural Nara, we were served sweets and tea while waiting to check in.

The area of Shigi-san is east of Osaka City and in the southern part of Nara Prefecture.

The mountain is more than 400 meters (1200 feet) high and has many inns and a large temple complex.

The area is known for its hot springs, Shigisan Temple, and a great battle.

In 1577, the general Oda Nobunaga laid siege to Mount Shigi.

He defeated the castle there that was held by Matsunaga Hisahide. Following defeat, Matsunaga committed ritual suicide. His son, Kojiro, then jumped from the castle walls - his father's severed head in hand, and his own sword piercing his own throat.

With that in mind, we tucked into the exquisite sweets and then headed for the healing waters of the hot spring.

It would be a hell of a bike ride for even the very fit.


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Gangoji Temple Nara

自転車で元興寺へ

Gangoji Temple is one of Nara's Seven Great Temples.

It is located in the heart of the Naramachi area of the city and is registered as a World Heritage Site.

The temple was first built in Asuka, in Nara Prefecture but outside of the city proper. It was then moved to its current location in 718 C.E.

Fires in the 15th and 19th centuries destroyed much of the temple.

As a result, many of the buildings are fairly recent.

The area around the temple is also well worth a ride or stroll.

More Information

0742 23 1377
Admission: 500 yen

Parking

On the left as you enter (pictured below)

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Gold Lantern Kasuga Shrine Nara

金提灯春日神社

Deep in Nara Park is the World Heritage site Kasuga Shrine.

It is a Shinto shrine established in 768 C.E. It was originally the shrine of the legendary Fujiwara family, and has been rebuilt several times in the ensuing centuries.

The Kasugayama Primeval Forest near it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is a wonderful, deep walk.

If you go early, the silence is deafening.

The Shrine is famous for its lanterns, most of which are bronze. However, gold lanterns like the one pictured are also common.

Details

6:30 to 17:30 (7:00 to 16:30 from November through March)

Closed: No closing days
Admission: Free (outer area), 500 yen (inner area)

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Giant Buddha Nara Todaiji Temple

大仏東大寺

Todaiji Temple is a grand Buddhist temple complex in Nara.

Located in Nara Park, its Great Buddha Hall is the largest wooden building in the world.

Within this vast structure is the giant buddha, or in Japanese "Daibutsu."

The great buddha is nearly 15 meters (49 feet) high and weighs some 500 tons.

The city of Nara is compact and most of the main sites in the city limits can be easily visited in one day on a bike.


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Nagare Bashi Bridge Kyoto

流れ橋京都

About midway between Arashiyama and Kizu, along the Kyoto to (suburbs of) Nara bike route, is one of the longest remaining wooden bridges in Japan.

The Nagare Bashi (bridge) is a simple but elegant wooden bridge that spans the Kizu River. It is 365 meters long, and just over 3 meters wide.

Vehicular traffic is of course forbidden, but pedestrians and cyclists use the bridge.


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Keihan Train LIne Bridge Over Kyoto - Nara Bike Trail

京阪沿線の橋

Along the bicycle trail from Kyoto to Kizu, which is not far from Nara, was this wonderful bridge used by the Keihan trains that run between Kyoto and Osaka.

To the left is the Kizu River, over which the bridge spans.

The bike path dips under the bridge and takes cyclists through a cement tunnel.

As we sped through, an express train raced - as if on cue - towards Kyoto directly above us.

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Kyoto to Nara Bicycle Path

京都八幡木津自転車道線

The prospect of riding from Kyoto, the Japanese capital from 794 - 1868, down to Nara, its predecessor (710 - 784), is enticing.

Cruising along from temple to temple, through sylvan rice paddies, sounds idyllic.

The reality, however, is grimly different.

If one were to ride on roads, from south Kyoto onward to Nara, the entire journey would be exurban Japan: fast-food restaurants, used car dealers, tacky signage, trucks and cars belching fumes, telephone wires overhead, and nary a bike lane to be found.

However, there is an alternative:

The Arashiyama to Kizu Bike Lane

A 45 kilometer (27 miles) bike- and pedestrians-only lane runs from Arashiyama to Kizu, which is about 30-45 minutes outside of Nara. No cars, no trucks, no fumes.

Instead: lots of cyclists and river views and clean air.

The ride to Kizu follows the Katsura and Kizu Rivers and is flat the entire way. From Kizu, there is a climb into Nara if you take Route 754.

Highly, highly recommended.


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Cycle Kasuga Shrine Nara

自転車で春日大社

Kasuga Grand Shrine is a Shinto shrine in Nara, the former capital that is located roughly 45 kilometers from Kyoto.

It is one of the most famous shrines in Japan.

It was established in 768 AD and has been rebuilt several times over the centuries.

It is the shrine of the legendary Fujiwara family is well known for its many bronze lanterns.

The Shrine is located in Nara Park, a short ride from the Nara Museum and the center of Nara proper.

Information

6:30 to 17:30 (7:00 to 16:30 from November through March)
500 yen to enter the inner area


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Chinese Kanji Kuruma Wheel

車

This giant kanji painted onto the pavement is "kuruma" or, in combination, "sha."

The picture is taken looking from directly above. The actual kanji should look like this:

車

It means wheel.

You can often spot it as part of 自動車 （jidosha）- car - that are on signs and roads.

This character however was part of 自転車（jitensha）- bike - and was on the Kyoto (Arashiyama) to Kizu bike trail.

We rode it recently, and continued on into Nara, which is not far beyond Kizu.

In future blogs, that wonderful route will be introduced.

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Kyoto to Nara Bicycle Path Sign

八幡木津自転車道線

It doesn't take much imagination to hate Japan's Ministry of Construction.

In several post-War decades, the Ministry managed to concrete over and dam up the landscape and rivers of what was a beautiful country.

The solution to every problem seemed to be: throw a lot of money at it, let the major construction firms run wild in the countryside and earn enormous sums (of which the yazuka took a sweet cut), and buildbuildbuild. The result was a Soviet style landscape. Bleak. Hard. Ugly. Concrete.

However, as cyclists, we must also take our hats off to the Ministry. The Men of Concrete have built a series of wonderful bike paths around the country. One of the best runs from Arashiyama, in western Kyoto, to Kizu, which is just outside of Nara.

The path is three meters wide and is for use for cyclists and pedestrians. In other words, there are no cars, trucks, or motorcycles for the 45 km of the route.

The path follows the Katsura River out of Kyoto, and then joins the Kizu River.

We will be making the ride in late March and will blog it.

Information in Japanese.

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