First, I’d like to thank Philipp for making the effort to cover the Furuichi cluster so I could cross that from my to-do-list. Even when limiting myself to the Mozu cluster, I found it a labour-intensive visit as I walked 8.2 km across 3 hours in the heat (still 33 degrees Celsius in late September). I did: Sakaihigashi Station – Sakai City Hall Observation Lobby – kofun in the north – hike towards Daisan Park along the westside of Nintoku-tenno-ryo – Sakai City Museum – small kofuns in the park - Itasuke kofun – ceremonial Gate to Nintoku-tenno-ryo – Mozu Station. A useful downloadable map with hiking routes along the points of interest can be found here.

I’d like to focus on what can be seen at the Sakai City Museum. The museum has a central location in the park and charges a small entrance fee (200 yen). You will be ushered directly into the film theatre, where an animated film with English subtitles explains their historical context, how the kofun were made, and how they looked like. The kofun were monumental platforms for burial ceremonies, made out of earth and dry stone walls (not tree-covered as nowadays) – the result looked a bit like Mesoamerican sites such as Monte Alban. The rulers of the time were trading with the Baekje in Korea and the Liu Song in China and were also influenced by their cultures. They also learned (from what is now Mongolia) that you could ride horses!

The exhibition displays some of the findings from abroad that were mentioned in the film, such as glassware from Persia. The best bits however are the haniwa clay figures, which also get a mention in the OUV statement. These haniwa decorated the boundaries of the kofun; the earliest were hollow terracotta cylinders, but later on, they used clay sculptures representing people, animals, boats, houses, etc. They were quite large, up to 1.5m in height, and often incised with geometric patterns. Some on display are reproductions, others are restored originals. 

Overall, I think this WHS is better than it seems at first sight. The visitor experience would profit a lot from at least one accessible kofun, or even a replica including haniwa decorations. Still, the enormous (up to 500m in length) keyhole-shaped kofun, best seen from the sky, are just a magnificent creation by a 4th century civilization.