East Kyoto Half Day Tour

Explore a lesser seen side of Kyoto and Yamashina via bicycle.

Kyoto has a certain image to first time travels that often does not align with the reality of the situation on the ground. The hotspots in Kyoto are always fantastic, but they tend toward the overcrowded.

Experience the peaceful side of Kyoto and get lost in some of the older neighborhoods by venturing out on a bicycle on RBRJs East Kyoto Half day tour.

This tour is a leisurely 30km loop that takes 2 hours (even if you take plenty of photo stops). Depending on how many of the sites you would like to visit it could be extended into a day long ride.

If you choose to go on a guided half day tour you will have up to four hours with an RBRJ cyclist. After that you can adventure out for the rest of the day on your own if you’d like!

Route Description:

Start by heading south from our shop along the Higashitakasegawa river. You will get acquainted with more local neighborhoods along this quiet road and pass by a centuries old Sake brewery.

As you turn towards the Uji River and Yamashina River delta, you will go across Benten Bridge and ride along the picturesque Fushimi Canal.

After that you will head up the towards Yamashina, a beautiful Kyoto suburb, along  its namesake river. The ride along this river is mostly on bike paths and feeder roads that are lined with seasonal trees and greenery. Enjoy the Cherry Blossoms lining the path in the Spring, in the early Summer you can see Hydrangeas of all colors , and then in the of the late Fall and early Winter the Japanese Maple and Cosmos are lovely.

Before heading all the way to JR Yamashina station, you will take a left onto Sanjo-dori, a road with a marked bike path that will take you up and over the hill back into Kyoto via the Northern Higashiyama District.

This district has tons of site seeing that is best accessed on bike such as Nanzenji, The Path of Philosophy, and Heian Jingu (along with the surrounding museums and Kyoto Zoo).

Turn back south and follow the Kamogawa on another marked bike path before turning back east towards Kiyomizu Temple. While Kiyomizu is one of THE temples for site seeing in Kyoto, we will instead head further south along the hills and into the quieter neighborhoods passing by Kyoto Women’s University before arriving at Sennyuji Temple.

At Sennyuji you have the option of simply enjoying the peaceful atmosphere of a temple tucked into the side of a mountain, or stopping off and enjoying a quiet tour through the main grounds (an additional enterance fee is required, up to 1000 yen). This temple is never crowded and has friendly staff and priests willing to offer more insights into Buddhism, Kyoto and the combined history of both.
(As a further option a private walking tour can be scheduled with a native English speaking priest based on advanced notice time and scheduling availability)

After Sennyuji we head down the hill pack into Fushimi ward and towards the shop. Enjoy the serene southern end of the Kamogawa before completing the ride.

Please specify your height and bike preference, and we will do our best to accommodate. 

To reserve your place on the tour you need to:

1. Choose your tour date from the calendar

Select from the available tour dates. Add the tour to your cart then continue shopping.

2. Request your bike when ordering and indicate your height

From our collection of bikes, please choose a bike based on your height & preference. We will do our best to accommodate your requests

Please check the size guides on our 'How to Rent' page. We want you to be comfortable and safe so you can try the bike for size before riding and change the bike depending on availability. 

After adding the tour to the cart, proceed to checkout and finalise the reservation.

Tour includes:

• Tour guide (English and Japanese speaking)
• Pre-planned route
• Drinks - Pre-ride Coffee
• Helmet (comes with bike reservation)

Morning: Meet at 09:15 and start cycling at 09:30.

Afternoon: Meet at 13:15 and start cycling at 13:30

Start and finish at Road Bike Rental Japan (Kyoto).