Customized or Leave It To Us - All Bicycle Tour Itineraries Are Customizable
A typical tour by bicycle: Meet up with your guide, settle onto your bike and ride along the Kamo River, with its citywide views and waterfront restaurants, until you arrive at Heian Shrine. After visiting the Shrine, get back onto your bicycle and glide along historic streets by picturesque canals as you discover the city’s most impressive museums, parks, gardens, as well as temples and shrines. Then, on to Nanzenji Temple - one of the most revered Zen temples in Japan. Wander the spacious grounds and rock gardens before getting back on your bicycle to glide down the cherry-tree lined Philosophers Path.
Half Day Bicycle Tour
Ride leisurely through the gentle, serene back streets with an English speaking guide. Discover gems of the area in hidden pockets that are impossible to access on other tours.
Full Day Bicycle Tour
Bicycle through the charming, peaceful back streets with an English speaking guide. Discover Temples, Shrines, and Gardens in hidden pockets that are impossible to access on other tours.
Experience Serenity in Kyoto by Bicycle – Half Day Tour
Ride leisurely through the gentle, serene back streets of Kyoto with an English speaking guide. Come to see a new side of the city that won't be seen on other tours. Enjoy seeing the sights in traditional pockets of the eastern mountain areas such as Yasaka Shrine, Maruyama Park, Gion, and Heian-Jingu Shrine which are all overflowing with the genuine atmosphere of Kyoto.
Meet up with your guide, settle onto your bike and ride along the Kamo River, with its citywide views and waterfront restaurants, until you arrive at Heian-Jingu Shrine. Built in 1894, this Shinto shrine boasts one of the tallest orange gates in the world.
After taking photos of Heian Shrine, get back onto your bicycle and set out to discover other cultural and historical sights of Kyoto. Glide along historic streets and by picturesque canals as you discover the city’s most impressive parks, gardens, as well as temples and shrines.
Then, continue next to quiet waterways, the picturesque Higashiyama Mountains serving as a backdrop, on to Nanzenji Temple - one of the most revered Zen temples in Japan. Wander the spacious grounds and rock gardens before getting back on your bicycle to glide down the cherry-tree lined Philosophers Path, Kyoto’s most popular walk.
Experience Serenity in Kyoto by Bicycle – Full Day Tour
Wind your way through the delightful side streets, exquisite Temples, and Shrines of ancient Kyoto by bicycle for this once in a lifetime opportunity to experience the daily rhythms and breathtaking sights and sounds of the world’s most picturesque urban area. Japan’s cultural capital for over 1,000 years, Kyoto is loaded with extravagant Temples, legendary Shrines, and stunning Zen gardens.
We begin this journey by riding along the calm banks of the Kamo river, heading north towards Kamigamo Shrine, an important Shinto sanctuary, first founded in 678. The Shrine grounds are impeccably kept, boasting spectacular outdoor temple-like wooden meditation structures nestled between cool, running brooks.
After taking in the fresh northern riverside air, head south along the pristine Takano river and feast upon the greatest panoramic view of Kyoto, the eastern Kyoto mountain range, pillared by mount Hiei and mount Daimonji.
Your guide then leads you into the enchanted forests encircling Shimogamo Shrine, another important Shinto sanctuary in the Shimogamo district of Kyoto. As well as being a Unesco World Heritage Site, it is historically linked with Kamigamo shrine, as one in the group of the “Kamo Shrines” of Kyoto.
After taking photos at Shimogamo Shrine and its pristine forested orange gates, we head east over to Ginkakuji Temple, otherwise known as the Silver Pavillion. The temple construction represents the Higashiyama Culture of the Muromachi period with an elegant 2-storied Hall as its main structure.
Next, meander leisurely down Philosophers Path, a pedestrian walkway that follows a cherry-tree lined canal funneling into the illustrious Nanzenji temple, a spectacular Zen Buddhist Temple built on the site of Emperor Kameyama’s (1291) previous detached palace. Here, stop to take in the scenic beauty of the temple grounds which are nestled into the foothills of the eastern Kyoto mountain range.
Then glide through a quaint suburban neighborhood up onto a grand promenade welcoming you into the Heian Jingu Shrine compound. Heian-Jingu Shrine is an important Shinto center known for its giant red sacred entrance gate, and world renowned Japanese gardens of the Meiji era that surround the shrine. The gardens bring together the best of the landscaping techniques of the Heian period, and was designated as a national scenic spot in December of 1995.
Spring red weeping cherry trees, early summer of Iris, and autumn leaves weave a divine landscape enticing your mind into a state of serenity and bliss.
Finally, we ride comfortably past small lesser known temples and shrines into the green expanse of the Kyoto Imperial Palace. Here, indulge in the regal resplendence of the residence. Appreciate the simple elegance of Japanese architecture as you explore magnificent chambers and learn of ancient ceremonies that still occur within its walls. After taking in the opulence of the Palace, ride back along the gentle banks of the Kamo river where the ride concludes.