Cycling Day 39: To Nara
Out of the mountains and into the cities...heading for Nara perhaps, and then Kyoto?
My fellow campers last night appear to have kept their fire going all night and well into the morning!
Bekijk het op de interactieve kaart
11 May 2026 - 10:15
Route 168
In places route 168 is little more than a single track road clinging to the mountainside, in others it thunders over bridges and through mountain tunnels, a massive feat of engineering!
I have to say I'm thankful for the tunnels - they save a lot of ascent and descent! Saying that the next few km will be a challenge; a 400m climb ahead...
Prince Moriyoshi
Born 1327.
Involved in the Shogunate restoration.
The thatched house is/was the Ota local history museum.
The large standing stone is dedicated to fertility and restoration, or so my phone tells me ñ
A modernist design (UFO) rest stop
There is an observatory (and planetarium?) above and buildings with retractable rooves. I did notice you could see a lot of stars from the campsite last night!
11 May 2026 - 12:22
11 May 2026 - 12:29
Lunch spot
Too hot - had to move out of the sun!
Plum & persimmon area
But it's too late for the spring blossoms now!
Gojo
I paised to pick up peanuts and a ice cream, pedals down the old-town road and took a quick look at one of the temple (although the other temple was said to be well renowned for it's seasonal flowers, it was a km in the wrong direction on a hit, sunny day).
Cities
I got a little more ambitious after my ice cream and booked myself a couple of nights in a hostel in Nara - hadn't expected to cycle that far today, but hopefully I'll make it...maybe even before dark!
There's a big expanse of amalgamated towns and cities ahead, having climbed my way out of Gojo 🫣
11 May 2026 - 17:39
Deer Hostel
On arrival at Deer Hostel, I was greeted by these two in the empty plot opposite! The deer really do roam free in the city!
Meet-up
After a quick shower I headed out to meet for a drink, snack and chat with David and Julia Stoyle from Bath, whose cycle touring talk I attended just before setting out for Japan! They're really whizzing through from Kagoshima to Hokkaido, but still managing to have rest days and to visit plenty of interesting places!
They'd just had a rest day in Nara and gave me a few tips on what to see 🙂