Kyoto Historical Highlights Bike Tour with World Heritage Zen TempleCycle through historical Kyoto and visit it's beautiful Zen temples and shrines; including the World Heritage Zen temple
★★★★★- 4 hour tour
- Small group tour
- English speaking guide
What makes this tour unique
- Everything is included. Don't worry about renting a bike. We got you covered.
- Bike around beautiful historical sites and visit World Heritage Zen temple Kennin-ji!
- Enjoy a quintessential local Kyoto lunch at a traditional Japanese house.
- Cycle around hidden areas and learn the history of this great city.
What's included
Not included
- Additional drinks and food fee (Available for purchase)
Tips and recommendations by our official guides
Our local guides crafted this bike tour with love! In Kyoto, cycling is the way to go. Buses can be crowded, missing the city's true essence. With us, you'll breeze through, skip lines, and explore freely on comfy city bikes. We've got you covered with insurance, safety gear, and locks.
Ideal for those craving a relaxed yet comprehensive Kyoto experience in just 3.5 hours. Explore the "must-see" spots and hidden gems off the beaten path.
We start in Gion, meandering to Kennin-ji, a World Heritage site, to discover Wabi-sabi and its Zen Rock garden. Feel the Zen calmness. Then, pedal to Nanzen-ji, Japan's top Zen temple, with photo-worthy spots. A short ride takes us to Heian Jingu shrine, where you'll learn local customs.
Lunchtime is a highlight! We've chosen a restaurant where you can savor Kyoto's unique cuisine amidst a beautiful Japanese garden. Vegetarian? No problem, just let us know!
At Magical Trip, we create unique experiences and cherish human connections. Feel free to ask our local guides anything. We hope to be friends because travel is about building precious connections.
And guess what? We offer bike tours in Tokyo and Osaka too. Join the fun on two wheels in other cities!
Official guide
Kick off the tour by cycling along the beautiful Kamo river before visiting Gion and Kennin-ji temple!
Despite being the 8th biggest metropolitan city with more than 1.4 million population, you will be surprised to find how calm and peaceful this ancient city is! Start this historical sights tour by learning about Gion & Geisha and Zen culture in Japan in UNESCO World Heritage Zen temple, Kennin-ji in Gion district. Get ready to feel the world of Zen in traditional Zen temple with Japanese Rock garden called Karesansui.
Breeze through beautiful local streets in historical city and enjoy a delicious lunch at a Japanese tea house!
As you may know, Kyoto is the former capital city of Japan from 794 until 1868 when the modern government moved its capital to Tokyo. It's no overstatement that whatever you imagine as 'Japanese culture' most likely has its roots in Kyoto! So after seeing the Kennin-ji temple, get ready to cycle again for a nice ride to the Nanzen-ji temple where your guide will give you some insights about Zen and the old days of Kyoto! After visiting some photogenic places in this temple, get ready to chow-down on some local cuisine with a plethora of different soba dishes available as well and yummy deserts with matcha and mochi at a traditional Japanese house! Also feel free to check out the beautiful Japanese garden and souvenir shop next door with delicious Japanese sweets called Yatsuhashi available to try too!
Enjoy the local Kyoto oasis that is Kamogawa river with a relaxing cycle along it's riverbanks to finish the tour off!
After chowing down on some delicious Kyoto cuisine and taking a break hop back on your bike and finish the tour off with a super-relaxing ride along the beautiful and distinctly Kyoto-esque route through the city. On the way you'll see many locals enjoying the sunshine and flowing river at this relaxing spot.
Meeting Point
In front of the Seven Eleven convenience store outside of Exit Hachijo guchi of Kyoto station. It's next to Heart in viain.
See on google maps- In front of the Seven Eleven convenience store outside of Exit Hachijo guchi of Kyoto station. It's next to Heart in viain.
- The guide will be waiting with a Magical Trip sign board.
- The restaurant industry faces difficulty of hiring restaurant staff and training them because many restaurant staff had to quit or got laid off during the times of the Covid-19 pandemic. Therefore, food and drinks at some restaurants possibly comes served late and the tour might be longer than originally scheduled. We kindly ask for your understanding
- Because most Japanese restaurants are not fully ready for providing vegetarian menus, choices of vegetarian foods in our tour is available but limited.
- Anyone over 150cm ( 4′11″)tall can join this tour.
- This cycling tour is not only for highly skilled bikers but also for anyone.
- For safety, the tour might be cancelled in case of unsuitable weather.
- Please wear comfortable clothes and shoes for cycling.
- Please be prepared for hot temperature in summer.
- Please bring something to drink during the tour. (We don't provide a plastic bottle of water from viewpoint of SDGs.)
- Please follow traffic rules which your guide explains.
- Out of respect for other guests and to ensure the best tour for everyone, we must start the tour on time.
- You will not be able to join the tour, get refund or rescheduled if you are late for the tour and missed the group.
- We do not recommend bringing young children and baby on this tour. We can refer customers with children to outside sitter services, so please contact us before booking.
- For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours in advance of the tour starting time.
Anyone over 150cm ( 4′11″)tall can join this tour because of the size of bicycles.
The tour would be cancel if there is a 40% or more of rain probability. In case of cancellation because of bad weather we will send you a message one day before the tour; we might propose you to reschedule the tour to the closest available day (depending on availability).
If it is cancelled by bad weather, you get full refund.
