Kofun Burial Mounds and a Yayoi Village: Umami Hills Park, Suyama Kofun Burial Mound, and Karako-Kagi Ruins (By Car)

This driving course explores kofun burial mounds in the Umami Hills in the western Nara Basin and visits the site of a Yayoi period village at the Karako-Kagi Ruins in the center of the basin. Tracing ancient Yamato as if traveling back in time from the Kofun period to the Yayoi period, you will visit the Nagareyama Kofun, which you can climb to the top, the Suyama Kofun Burial Mound surrounded by a moat, and a reconstructed multi-story building based on drawings on pottery.

History and Local Charm

The Umami Hills, located in the western part of the Nara Basin, are low hills with an elevation of around 70 meters, extending about 3 kilometers from east to west and about 7 kilometers from north to south. Many large kofun burial mounds built in the 4th and 5th centuries are located on these hills, known as the Umami Kofun Group.

Starting in the early 1970s, large-scale residential development began in the western part of the hills. In the eastern part of the hills, plans for an urban park were decided in 1984 to protect the natural environment and kofun group from development. This became the present Umami Hills Park, which fully opened in 2012.

Meanwhile, in the lowlands formed by the Hase River near the center of the Nara Basin, lies the Karako-Kagi Ruins. This is the site where one of Japan's largest villages existed during the Yayoi period about 2,000 years ago. The settlement continued without interruption for about 700 years, from the Early Yayoi period to the Late Yayoi period. In 1937, an archaeological excavation at Karako Pond uncovered wooden farming tools such as pestles, shedding light on the nature of the Yayoi period.

Large kofun from the Kofun period remain in the hills west of the basin, while the remains of an earlier Yayoi period village are preserved in the center of the basin. Just by traveling east by car, you can compare the scenes of these two eras.

Key Highlights

• ​Umami Hills Park​​: A prefectural park spanning Koryo Town and Kawai Town, covering a total area of 56.2 hectares. Kofun burial mounds are scattered around the Kami-ike and Shimo-ike ponds in the central area, where cherry blossoms and tulips bloom in spring, roses, Japanese irises, and sunflowers bloom in summer, and dahlias and cosmos bloom in autumn. Nagareyama Kofun is a 105-meter-long keyhole-shaped burial mound built in the early 5th century. The eastern half recreates its appearance from about 1,600 years ago, with reconstructed rows of haniwa (terracotta clay figures) and fukiishi (stones covering the mound's surface).
• ​Suyama Kofun Burial Mound​​: A keyhole-shaped burial mound with a total length of approximately 220 meters, one of the largest in the Umami Kofun Group, designated as a Special Historic Site of Japan in 1952. Its surrounding moat has been used as an agricultural reservoir. On the western side of the square front section, an island-like structure projecting from the mound into the moat was found, from which haniwa in the shapes of water birds and houses have been unearthed.
• ​Karako-Kagi Ruins Historic Park​​: A park established on the site of a large moated settlement from the Yayoi period. Its symbolic reconstructed multi-story building, built in 1994 based on drawings on pottery, is 12.5 meters tall and has two stories. In the Structure Exhibition Hall, there is a full-scale model molded from postholes of a large building site, as well as an excavated zelkova pillar measuring 60 centimeters in diameter. In the Multiple Moat Area, part of the moats that once surrounded the village has been reconstructed.

Recommended Route and Travel Time

The estimated time required is about 4 hours. Because thoroughly exploring all areas of Umami Hills Park would take an entire day, this course focuses on walking through areas with many kofun. Park your car at the Central Parking Lot in the central area. First, at the Park Information Center in the central area, learn about the nature and kofun of the Umami Hills through models and video exhibits. After that, climb Nagareyama Kofun. The summit of its circular rear section is the highest point in the park, offering a panoramic view of the Nara Basin.

Next is Suyama Kofun Burial Mound. Suyama Kofun Burial Mound lies outside the park boundaries, but it can be viewed from the south area of the park. As there is also a South Parking Lot in the south area, you may also move there by car. Try taking in the immense size of the burial mound surrounded by its moat from the outside.

From Suyama Kofun Burial Mound, drive about 5.6 kilometers east-northeast to reach Karako-Kagi Ruins Historic Park in Tawaramoto Town. The park's parking lot is not along National Route 24, but is located just to the east off National Route 24. Upon arrival, first view the pillar at the Structure Exhibition Hall before heading to the reconstructed multi-story building. You cannot enter the building, so look up at the spiral roof ornaments and wooden birds from around it. Looking east from the Yayoi Forest Area, you can gaze out over the surrounding rural landscape and the mountain ridge known as the Green Wall of Yamato (Yamato no Aogaki).

The painted pottery that served as the model for the multi-story building is displayed at the Karako-Kagi Archaeological Museum in Sakate, Tawaramoto Town. Please check before visiting, as Karako-Kagi Ruins Historic Park has closed days.

Experience Summary

From the top of a reconstructed kofun on flower-covered hills, gaze out over the Nara Basin, view a large kofun surrounded by a moat, and then travel to the center of the basin. At the site of a Yayoi period village, look up at a multi-story building brought to life from pottery drawings. Spend half a day tracing ancient Yamato step by step, journeying from the Kofun period back to the Yayoi period.