We Just completed a fantastic cycle tour of Kyoto with Thierry from cyclekyoto.net
Cycle tours are great as you will see so much more of a city than you will taking a walking tour or taking buses. This tour took us to the famous Gion area, the golden pavilion, the Inari shrine (with the thousands of Tori gates) as well as many other temples and shrines including :-
- Tatsumi Daimyojin Shrine
- Kitano Tenmangu Shrine
- Nijo-jo Castle
- Toji Homotsukan
- Hongangi
Went through many back streets and saw part of Kyoto I would never have even thought of visiting. The tour took about 5 hours, cost ¥12,000 and included lunch.
Dave and I were the only ones on the tour so it was basically a personalised tour for day. I’ve done bike tours in Florence, Paris, Amsterdam, Prague, Krakow, Berlin and Copenhagen and this is up there with the best ones I’ve done.
Our guide Terry is French so it was interesting to hear what it was like for him to be living full time here in Kyoto.
The tour itself was mostly flat and on lots of cycle paths. Some road and traffic interaction along the way but didn’t feel unsafe anywhere. Some of the back streets of Kyoto are amazingly beautiful.
At the Golden Pavilion we had a group of school kids approach us to practice their English. They asked us what was our favourite Japanese food (Curry for me!) and our favourite Japanese cultural item (I chose the Shinkansen). Their teacher was quite happy they had found some tourists willing to participate.
It was a full on day and the Onsen back at the hotel was very welcoming and relaxing on our return.
It's all about the coffee 