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East Kyoto E-Bike Tour: Explore Majestic Shrines, Temples and Gardens Ahead of the Crowds
5.0
122 Ratings
Kyoto
Embark on an early-bird e-bike tour of south and east Kyoto, exploring majestic shrines, temples, and gardens before the crowds arrive. Don’t miss this unique experience!
Embark on an early-bird e-bike tour of south and east Kyoto, exploring majestic shrines, temples, and gardens before the crowds arrive. Don’t miss this unique experience!
Duration:
7 hours
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- Fushimi Inari-taisha Shrine - We will take 25 minutes to ride along the river to reach the shrine and then 30 minutes to explore the world-famous shrine on foot.
- Tofuku-ji Temple - From Fushimi Inari, it takes 15 minutes to access this spectacular Zen Buddhist temple. We will take a brief stop on the picturesque bridge
- Kamogawa River -…
- Fushimi Inari-taisha Shrine - We will take 25 minutes to ride along the river to reach the shrine and then 30 minutes to explore the world-famous shrine on foot.
- Tofuku-ji Temple - From Fushimi Inari, it takes 15 minutes to access this spectacular Zen Buddhist temple. We will take a brief stop on the picturesque bridge
- Kamogawa River - We will take an extended ride along the beautiful riverside
- Ginkakuji Temple - We will enter and explore the grounds and the time listed includes a lunch stop in a restaurant nearby
- Philosopher’s Path - Cycle along this stunning path of philosphy
- Nanzen-ji Temple - We will walk the grounds of this magnificent temple
- Heian Shrine - We will take a stroll through the courtyard of the magnificent Heian Jingu Shrine
- Gion - We will ride through the backstreets of Kyoto’s enchanting entertainment district - possibly glancing Maiko or Geiko along the way
- Higashi Hongan-ji Temple - We will take a stroll through the amazing wooden prayer halls and this listed time includes a stop at our favourite cafe in Kyoto
What's Included
- Water
- E-bike (for riders above 145cm)
- Lunch
- Helmet
- Water
- E-bike (for riders above 145cm)
- Lunch
- Helmet
Additional Information
Perfect for groups and individuals (from 145cm!) looking for a unique perspective on the city, this e-bike tour explores the highlights of south and east Kyoto. We meet bright and early for a short orientation before heading south to enjoy the majestic Fushimi Inari Shrine before the crowds arrive. From here we will catch the splendour of Tofukuji…
Perfect for groups and individuals (from 145cm!) looking for a unique perspective on the city, this e-bike tour explores the highlights of south and east Kyoto. We meet bright and early for a short orientation before heading south to enjoy the majestic Fushimi Inari Shrine before the crowds arrive. From here we will catch the splendour of Tofukuji Temple before stopping for a morning coffee. The next part of our journey takes us up the Kamo river and over to the UNESCO listed Ginkakuji Temple. After Ginkakuji, we will roll slowly south down the iconic Path of Philosophy and into the grounds of Nanzenji Temple (complete with traditional gardens, ornate religious buildings and even a red brick aquaduct). After a sit down lunch (provided), the last leg of our journey takes us south along the Shirakawa Canal and through the streets of Gion before returning to base.
- Must be 13+ to participate as a rider
- Dietary requirements need to be known ahead of time. Please let us know
- Minimum age is 13 years old and minimum height is 145cm
Location
Cycle Kyoto
Please make sure to arrive 15 minutes before the start time.
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
5.0
(122 Ratings)
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Tania
Jan 3, 2026
Must do! Best way to take in sights of Kyoto! - I cannot write highly enough about this experience and our travel guide Karl. I’ve been putting this review off to do it justice when I have time to do this well and now months have gone by so I’m just going to get it down…
We were a family of 6 - Mum and Dad, 26, 20, 18 and 16 year olds from NZ. We all absolutely loved it. Highlight of our trip and the memories will stay with us forever.
We only had 2 days in Kyoto and wanted to do something that covered a number of sights in a short space of time and this experience did not disappoint.
We saw so many amazing breathtakingly beautiful sights, ably led by the most informative, knowledgeable, hospitable and funny travel guide. We happened to experience a brief but moving traditional Japanese family ceremony in one of the temples, and Karl took us to this amazing restaurant hidden away and we got to taste the most delicious Japanese food. We were taken through so many quaint little neighbourhoods, with picturesque views of rivers and streets. All of the temples were simply stunning, there are no words to describe their magnificence.
I am not the fittest person but managed to keep with everyone on the bike quite well. I felt safe and so did the whole family.
If you’re wondering whether to give this a go, do it, it’s so worth it. You cover so much in this trip, there’s no way we would have got to see everything we did any other way, in that amount of time, and we saw so many places we didn’t even know about. Highly highly recommend.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Ziviletr
Dec 5, 2025
Best day in Kyoto! - The Early Birds tour with Juan was one of the best days of our three weeks in Japan. I absolutely loved it. Juan is a fascinating person and shared so much valuable information about the places we visited. He also made sure we stayed safe and comfortable throughout the ride. Thanks to this tour, we managed to avoid most of the crowds and saw a beautiful, more peaceful side of Kyoto. I’m so glad we did this and would highly recommend it!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Erikf761
Nov 30, 2025
Get to know Kyoto in depth and breadth! - Quin is a wizard of a tour guide. He's been living in Japan for decades, and knows the history, geography, language, etiquette, religion and culture. You really feel you're getting to know Kyoto. He is kind-hearted, funny, and a lot of fun. I am not normally a tour guy, but Quin made this one of the big highlights of the week.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Carrieledererart
Nov 22, 2025
Fantastic E-bike tour of Kyoto! - We really enjoyed our E-bike tour of Kyoto -- a full day of exploration and beautiful discovery! Biking is a marvelous way to view the back-roads of Kyoto and experience the many districts of the city.
Both my husband and I did not have experience with E-bikes, and unfortunately he took a fall early on in the tour -- which was very distressing. I think it would have been helpful to offer a "how to" primer at the start (for those who have never been on E-bikes), to make sure everyone is schooled on the mechanisms.
Accident aside, our tour guide was excellent, and we enjoyed opportunity to see Kyoto from this perspective. Thank you Cycle Kyoto!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Fionah408
Nov 18, 2025
Great introduction to Kyoto - From start to finish Indra was a super host. The bikes were immaculate and comprehensive instruction provided.
Hitting the sights early was a bonus and cycling through the tiny streets certainly exhilarating.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Ralphlesthera
Nov 18, 2025
Unforgettable Bicycle Experience - It was a great trip, guide by Indra. There no need for other words, it is a must when you plan going to Kyoto and learn the history and culture.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Juju456789
Oct 20, 2025
Full day of sights! - We had a great day biking to many sights with Quin. Quin was very personable and shared about the sights and culture of Kyoto. Our group of 8 friends had a great experience and would recommend to anyone visiting. We could never have found all of that on our own!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Weltenbummler_0801
Oct 19, 2025
Great and informative day - Great and informative day!
We had a great guide with Mayko (?) who answered all our questions and got us through the day super and safely. Would do it again anytime.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
142davidh142
Oct 11, 2025
Awesome overview of East Kyoto - We had a most memorable Ebiking tour with Jay. Jay was very knowledgable of the Kyoto area and took us through many of the back streets of Kyoto so that it was easy to navigate. Even for novices on the bikes we quickly relearned how to use our e-bikes. Riding on E-bikes is definitely the way to see Kyoto as you can cover much more distance with much less walking. Jay was our guide and very knowledgable of the culture of Kyoto and gave us great insight about the Gion district, the Geisha culture, the shinto shrines and the Buddhist temples. All n all it was the most memorable thing we did on the trip and we saw so many places and things that we would have never saw if we were driving or on a tour bus. This was an outstanding experience and highly recommended.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Coastal67025720057
Oct 8, 2025
Awesome bike adventure with Paul - Had a great tour with Paul all around Kyoto. Paul shared a ton of great information, loved the variety of the stops and lunch choice. Even the coffee shop stop was so cute. Loved how much of the city we got to see. Thank you Paul!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
