Ikaruga Town

A tomb used as a medieval Buddhist hall.

Hotokezuka Kofun, hall in a tomb

Photo by Saigen Jiro (CC0)

01 ／ Chuguji temple site

No lecture hall or cloister found,so the temple seems unfinished.

This is the site of the original temple, which stood east of today's Chuguji. The foundations of the pagoda and main hall line up north to south, which the town describes as a Shitennoji-style layout. No lecture hall or cloister has been found, and the town writes that the temple seems to have been left unfinished. A historical park opened in 2018.

National historic site, 1990
Pagoda and hall in a north-south line
Precinct est. 128 m by 165 m

02 ／ Fujinoki Kofun

Gilt-bronze horse fittings were foundin an 80 cm gap between coffin and wall.

This round tomb, about 50 m across and 9 m high, dates from the late 6th century. The first excavation, in 1985, found a vermilion-painted house-shaped stone sarcophagus in the chamber, along with gilt-bronze horse fittings. The finds were designated National Treasures in 2004.

National historic site, 1991
Finds: National Treasure, 2004
About 50 m across, 9 m high

03 ／ Goboyama Tomb No. 3

From a tomb found during housing work,a three-color glazed inkstone and an amber pillow.

West of Fujinoki Kofun, three tombs were found during housing development work. From the lacquered clay coffin of Tomb No. 3 came a three-color glazed inkstone, a glass brush tube and an amber pillow. The tombs are now under houses; the town says the stone chamber and grave goods are on permanent display at the museum of the Archaeological Institute of Kashihara.

Finds: Important Cultural Property, 1981
Estimated 7th-century tomb
Side-entrance stone chamber

Living here

39 minutes from Osaka on the Yamatoji Rapid.

about 30,000 people
Rural district town

On the JR Yamatoji Line, the Yamatoji Rapid takes 39 minutes at the fastest from Osaka Station to Horyuji Station (daily service; timetable, October 2026). The town says it lies from the northwest of the Nara Basin to the southern end of the Yata Hills, with the Yamato River to the south, the Tomio River to the east and the Tatsuta River to the west. It gives about 12 minutes from JR Horyuji Station to Nara.

People living here: 27,587people
Area: 14.27km²
Households: 10,902households
Rent (average for rentals): 50,710yen
Healthcare: 0 hospitals ／ 21 clinics

Area and habitable land at the same scalee-Stat B1101 / B1103

Children waiting for childcare: —3 nurseries and similar
Home purchase subsidy: —
Average annual temperature: —

These 3 items are waiting on a nationwide data source. We do not fill them with estimates.

ACCESS

Where you can go from here.

Ikaruga Town in Japan34.609°N 135.731°E

to OsakaJR Rapid39min

Travel times follow JR西日本『JRおでかけネット』区間時刻表（ページの日付 2026年10月14日〔水〕・10月17日〔土〕・10月18日〔日〕。『JR時刻表』2026年10月号に基づく）。大和路線（関西本線）(大阪／ＪＲ難波～加茂) の line-timetable/2298（大阪方面→加茂方面。ページの表記は『上り』）で、大阪『発』→法隆寺『発』が同じ列車の列にあるものを数えた：10/14は52本、最速39分（大和路快速）。法隆寺は到着の行が無く発の行しか無いので、発時刻で数えた（快速の停車は短く、到着との差は1分未満）。運転日注意の欄が空＝毎日運転の便で、39分の便は18本（3346K 10:43発→11:22、3348K 10:58→11:37、3350K 11:13→11:52、3354K 11:43→12:22…。10/14・10/17・10/18の3日とも同じ18本）。3342K・3344K・3352Kなどは10/14が『平』（平日のみ）、10/17・18が『土休』で、毎日運転ではないので採らない。大阪方面は特急（らくラクやまと。平日のみ）が43分で、毎日運転の大和路快速の39分より遅い。逆向き（法隆寺→大阪）は line-timetable/2299（加茂方面→大阪方面。ページの表記は『下り』）の法隆寺『発』→大阪『着』が10/14は最速41分（毎日運転の大和路快速 3359K 11:11発→11:52着、3363K 11:41→12:22 など15本。3339K〈08:43→09:24〉は『平』）。10/17・18は最速40分だが『土休』の便なので、毎日運転の最速は41分 (checked 2026-10-14). They vary by time of day.

Shape

Borders 7 municipalities.

Territory of Ikaruga Town

Boundaries: National Land Numerical Information (N03)

North to south

6.2km

大和郡山市, 平群町, 安堵町, 河合町, 三郷町, 王寺町, 生駒市

Ikaruga Town isthis kind of town.

01Hotokezuka Kofun, a prefectural historic site, is a square tomb about 23 m on a side on a small hill north of the hills behind Horyu-ji; gilt-bronze Buddhas, clay Buddha fragments, vases and ritual vessels from the Middle Ages were excavated, and the town says they show the chamber was used as a Buddhist hall
02The town says the Buddhist Monuments in the Horyu-ji Area were inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 1993, and counts 42 National Treasures and 180 Important Cultural Properties in the town (as of April 1, 2025)
03Nishizato, where earthen walls and houses run about 200 m west from the Horyu-ji west gate, is said to have housed carpenters who worked on Horyu-ji; Tatsuta Shrine has a prefecturally designated Natural Monument, a giant cycad

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Ikaruga Town official site ↗Wikipedia ↗