Cycling in Kyoto
Kyoto is regularly rated amongst the most bicycle-friendly cities in Asia. The city's mostly flat terrain only slopes up slightly as you go north, roads are well-maintained, traffic is orderly, and drivers are accustomed to sharing the roads with cyclists. The city has many bicycle rental places and many of the city's main attractions have bicycle parking lots. You can find out more about cycling in Kyoto on CycleKyoto. This website has information about bike rentals, popular tourist routes, traffic rules, and safety information.
When planning our trip to Japan, Kapil and I had agreed that we would spend one of our three days in Kyoto exploring the city on bicycles. We rented ours from Kyoto Miyabiya (Address: 323 Kamijuzuyachō, Shimogyō-ku, Kyōto-shi, Kyōto-fu 600-8150), which was less than a kilometre our Airbnb apartment.
We decided to follow one of several cycling routes outlined on a map they gave us at the bicycle rental and rode 3kms to our first stop.
Kyoto Imperial Palace (Kyoto Gosho)
This palace used to be the residence of the Imperial family until 1868 when Tokyo became the capital city. It is located in the Imperial Park (Kyoto Gyoyen), a large, beautiful space right in the centre of the city.
Kyoto Gyoyen houses the Imperial Palace, the Sento Palace (former retirement palace of emperors), the Kaninnomiya Mansion (a former residence of court nobles) and a few other attractions.
Map at the entrance of Kyoto Gyoyen
Kyoto Imperial Palace
The Kyoto Imperial Palace walls seem to go for miles.
You do not need to be part of a tour group to enter or explore Kyoto Imperial Palace and Garden. However you do need to join a free tour run by the Imperial Household Agency to see the Sento Palace and grounds.
We spent a couple of hours exploring Kyoto Gyoyen before heading out to our next destination 1.7kms away.
Nijo Castle
In 1603, Tokugawa Iyeyasu, the first shogun, ordered the construction of this castle. It was to be his official residence. However, the construction of this castle was only completed in 1626 and it became the residence of the third shogun, Iemitsu. It is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The castle grounds are surrounded by stone walls and moats. The grounds are divided into three areas: the Honmaru (main circle of defence), the Ninomaru (secondary circle of defence) and gardens that encircle the Honmaru and Ninomaru.
The Nijo Castle grounds are a UNESCO World Heritage Site
You enter the castle grounds through a large gate in the east. English audio guides are available for rent at a kiosk just inside the gate. The Chinese style Karamon Gate serves as the entrance to the Ninomaru. Within this secondary circle of defence lies the main attraction, the Ninomaru Palace, which served as the residence and office of the shogun during his visits to Kyoto.
Nijo Castle: The Chinese style Karamon Gate
Nijo Castle: The Ninomaru Palace
This castle and the gardens are simply splendid and well worth a couple of hours of your time in Kyoto.
Ninomaru Gardens
Ninomaru Gardens
Our next stop was 4.9kms and only slightly uphill.
Kinkaku-ji (Temple of the Golden Pavilion)
This gold leaf covered Zen buddhist temple reflected in the mirror pond, Kyokochi, is perhaps the most recognised image of Kyoto.
Kinkaku-ji is a UNESCO World Heritage Site
It was lunch time when we reached the temple so we decided to eat before braving the crowds. We had so much superb food during our two weeks in Japan, but our lunch that afternoon at Ramen Kazu turned out to be our most favourite meal on the entire trip (cue food pics).
Ramen Kazu is famous for this Kyoto style ramen, with a thick and heavy broth...and the broth in these bowls of ramen was simply heavenly.
Who can say no to a bit of delicious fried chicken wings.
There were so many visitors at Kinkaku-ji that we were lucky to get an unhindered view of the temple for a bit and get a couple of fantastic photos (Kapil's height worked in his favour here). The temple itself is stunning, and the entire scene is made more beautiful by the backdrop of trees and the mirror pond the temple seems to float over.
When we left Kinkaku-ji, it was time to head back to the bicycle rental to return our bikes, so we did not complete the route we had chosen to cycle when we started that day. Still, Google Maps tells us that we cycled 17kms and walked 5.2kms during that time. Our phones were able to capture these nuggets of info, and we had access to Google Maps and train apps thanks to the personal wireless hotspot we had rented so that we would have data on the go. Do consider renting one of these if you are planning a visit. Check out our post on things to do/consider in preparation for a trip to Japan.
I have to admit that I was a bit nervous when we started the day. Riding a bike in an unfamiliar city/country felt a bit daunting, but I forgot all about that pretty quickly and starting enjoying the ride and the scenery. Kapil, on the other hand, was grinning from ear to ear from the moment we got our bikes until we returned them, and even after. All in all, we highly recommend cycling in Kyoto. It was a truly memorable experience. It is such a pleasure to have your own wheels to explore a new city at your own pace. You'll be whistling a merry tune as your ride your bike around town, knowing you took the eco-friendly option, with zero parking hassles to boot.
