The 15 Best Kyoto Bike Tours

1.Hidden Kyoto E-Biking tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 1,843 reviews · from $116Our pick

Start at NORU Kyoto Bike Tours for a relaxed 3-hour-45-minute e-bike ride through northern Kyoto. Visit Kinkakuji, Daitokuji, Kitano Tenmangu, Koto-in, and Zuihoin, with guides such as Yuta, Michael, Sean, and Henry sharing stories about Zen, Shinto, geisha culture, and local life.

“Our guide Michael is a superb storyteller, literally the best in the past 12 tours or so I took this year. Bike ride was through a pretty and peaceful part of Kyoto, visiting Temples and a garden.”

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2.Bike Tour Exploring North Kyoto plus Lunch

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 1,087 reviews · from $106

Ride through North Kyoto with guides such as Mayko, Quinn, Indra, or Julian, stopping at Nishi Honganji, Kitano Tenmangu, Kinkakuji, the former imperial grounds, and Gion. Expect about 24 kilometers of easy-to-moderate cycling, frequent sightseeing breaks, and a Japanese lunch.

“We had a great experience on the North Kyoto bike tour with our family of 5 (kids ages 12-17). Jay took us all around and made the sites interesting with his stories and background. I was pleasantly shocked when our 17-year-old proclaimed one of the shrine visits her favorite part of the trip - and it was all due to the insights from our guide. The lunch was great and Jay made sure there were vegetarian options available for those of us interested. He spent extra time with us and we never felt rushed. We felt very safe on the bikes, and we saw so much of the city in…”

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3.Arashiyama Bamboo Forest & Hidden Gems Bike Tour (Early Bird)

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 613 reviews · from $106

Start at 8 a.m. near Saga-Arashiyama Station for a private 3 to 4-hour ride with an English-speaking guide such as Rob, Milo, Yuki, or Ray. You’ll walk through the bamboo forest, visit Tenryu-ji, pedal quiet lanes and rice fields, and finish at Togetsukyo Bridge on a standard Cannondale bike.

“The best thing about this tour is your tour guide. Rob is an interesting, witty and caring person who is anxious to share his keen insights into various aspects of Japanese culture, religion and history. He makes the ride so much more than a pRead more”

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4.5 Top Highlights of Kyoto Full Day Bike Tour (E-bike option)

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 511 reviews · from $172

Start at Saga-Arashiyama Station for a full day of cycling through Kyoto. You’ll visit the bamboo forest, Fushimi Inari, Gion, Kiyomizu-dera, and Kinkakuji, with guides such as Rob, Cass, Peter, or Ray sharing local insight. Choose a standard bike or request an e-bike for an extra fee.

“My husband and I did the Kyoto Bike Tour with Rob. This was part of our 2.5 week trip to Japan and was easily one of the highlights of our honeymoon! Rob was an excellent tour guide. He was incredibly kind, engaging, showed us all of the major sites but also had such a wide breathe of information and facts about all the places we visited. He was excellent and dodging the massive crowds and finding the best places to take pictures (he also has an eye for photography and took some amazing pictures of us) Rob was very attentive, making sure we were travelling okay in the extreme heat,…”

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5.Full Day Biking Tour Exploring the Best of Kyoto

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 498 reviews · from $119

Ride roughly 18 to 20 miles through Kyoto with a guide such as Karl, Jay, Juan, Paul, Indra, or Jamie. Visit Kinkaku-ji, Fushimi Inari, Gion, the Imperial Palace grounds, and quieter temples, with a Japanese lunch and bike equipment included.

“Cycling around the city was really great. Reading reviews from other people I think the experience comes down to the guide. In our case the guide was a bit weird and not really clear in his explanations. Overall, not great value for money based on similar cycling tours done in other cities across the world.”

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6.Memory Kyoto E-Bike Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 297 reviews · 6 hours · from $91

Ride Kyoto’s quieter streets with an English-speaking guide such as Pohan, Jody, Benjamin, or Diego. This six-hour tour uses e-bikes to link four major sights, with guided visits to Kitano Tenmangu, Kinkakuji, Tenryuji, and Arashiyama Bamboo Forest. Expect temple walks, local stories, photo stops, and a small group of up to eight.

“Amazing bike tour that did not feel rushed but we still had the opportunity to visit many temples. It is a mix of biking and guided walking tour in the temples, which was great. Very knowledgeable guide.”

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7.E-Bike Tours of the highlights of Kyoto!!!

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 291 reviews · from $109

Ride Kyoto’s quieter lanes with a guide such as Philippe, Kevin, or Niall, stopping at major temples, shrines, gardens, and old neighborhoods. Choose the East Side course for Heian Shrine, Ginkakuji, and the Philosopher’s Walk, or the West Side course for Kinkakuji, Ryoan-ji, and Arashiyama.

“Our guide Phillippe was very knowledgeable and the route was very enjoyable. I would definitely recommend to others. Thanks again for a great experience!👍🏼😀”

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8.Afternoon Kyoto Bike Tour: Bamboo Forest, Monkeys & Hidden Spots

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 283 reviews · from $106

Ride standard Cannondale city bikes from Saga-Arashiyama Station with an English-speaking guide such as Yuki, Ray, Peter, or Rob. This four-hour afternoon tour combines Iwatayama Monkey Park, the Bamboo Forest, Tenryu-ji Garden, Togetsukyo Bridge, local lanes, and plenty of photo stops.

“Our tour guide was great and gave us lots of interesting facts as we ride through the town! We could have never done this on our own!”

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9.Arashiyama Bamboo Forest E-Biking Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 183 reviews · from $116

This four-hour Kyoto ride uses electric bikes to link Arashiyama’s bamboo grove with Otagi Nenbutsu-ji, Tōji-in, temple lanes, and rural roads. Guides including Yuta, Michael, Sean, and Henry lead groups of up to eight, with bikes, helmets, temple fees, and snacks included.

“I had a great time, however I haven’t biked in years so this really hurt my butt! lol. The biking was made easier since it was an ebike, but I will say I got unlucky with a bad battery and my bike died as I was going up the steepest hill XD I’ll also give the heads up, their bikes mainly accommodate people taller than me, I’m 5’0 (150cm) and struggling to stop n stand. Overall though, a beautiful view of Kyoto you wouldn’t normally get from just wandering the city!”

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10.Historical Kyoto E-Bike Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 181 reviews · from $99

Ride an e-bike across western Kyoto with guides such as Jody, Pohan, Diego, and Jorge. Visit Kitano Tenmangu, Kinkaku-ji, Arashiyama Bamboo Grove, and Tenryu-ji, with temple walks, cultural insight, water, helmets, and time for lunch. Groups are capped at eight.

“We love doing biking sightseeing adventures in every city we visit. This biking experience exceeded our expectations in every way possible, from the amount of biking, the fantastic guide Jody, and the places we visited all were exceptional. Friends recommended this tour and we are grateful. Highly recommend.”

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11.4.5-Hour Kyoto Bike Tour with Lunch and UNESCO Zen Temples

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 122 reviews · from $99

Ride from Gion to Kennin-ji and Nanzen-ji, pause for Japanese gardens and temple history, then eat a local lunch in a traditional house. Your English-speaking guide leads a group of no more than five, with bikes, helmets, insurance, entrance fees, and photos included.

“I had a great day biking around Kyoto with Yusuke! I wasn’t expecting it to be a private tour but that was a nice surprise because I could go at my own pace. Yusuke was a super friendly and knowledgeable guide - he made sure I was comfoRead more”

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12.Arashiyama Bamboo Forest Morning Tour by Bike

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 115 reviews · 3h 30m · from $103

Join an English-speaking guide such as Ray, Rob, Milo, Yuki, or Peter for a 3.5-hour morning bike tour through Arashiyama. Ride to the bamboo forest, Togetsukyo Bridge, Tenryuji gardens, small shrines, temples, rice fields, and quiet residential lanes. Bikes, helmets, water, and admission fees are included.

“Excellent knowledge and communication with all of the group about the interesting history aspects throughout the tour. Much more than a bike tour - very worthwhile”

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13.Afternoon Bamboo Forest and Monkey Park Bike Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 83 reviews · 4 hours · from $106

Ride with an English-speaking guide such as Yuki, Ray, Peter, or Rob through Arashiyama’s bamboo groves, quiet back roads, Tenryuji’s Zen gardens, and Togetsukyo Bridge. The four-hour tour includes a bicycle, helmet, water, and admission fees, plus a 20-minute uphill hike to Monkey Park.

“The entire tour was amazing!! Yuki was our guide and he was incredible. He really made sure we all had a great time. He was very friendly and informative (and told interesting stories - not just boring facts). He was generous with his time (not rushing us when we were all enjoying ourselves with the monkeys). Our favourite part was definitely the monkey forest, but we all really enjoyed the temples we visited. Riding through the quaint towns was fun and super easy too. We all agreed it was one of our highlights of our time in Kyoto. I can highly recommend this tour.”

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14.Fushimi Inari Shrine and Tofukuji Temple E-Bike Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 75 reviews · 4 hours · from $83Best value

Join Maki of Pedal Adventure Kyoto for a four-hour small-group e-bike ride through Gion, residential Kyoto, Fushimi Inari Shrine, and Tofukuji Temple. You’ll get riding guidance, cultural explanations, a snack, water, entrance fees, and time in a Zen garden. English tours are limited to eight people.

“Fantastic tour with a lot of cultural insights. Maki was an excellent and lovely tour guide:-)”

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15.4.5-hr Kyoto Historical Highlights Bike Tour with UNESCO

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 13 reviews · 4h 30m · from $96

Spend 4.5 hours cycling Kyoto with an English-speaking guide and a maximum of five participants. Ride beside the Kamo River, explore Gion, visit Kennin-ji and Nanzen-ji, stop at Heian Shrine, and enjoy a local lunch in a traditional Japanese house. Bikes, helmets, photos, and Kennin-ji admission are included.

“What an awesome trip. Enjoyed the experience from start to finish. Our guide Woohee was excellent- really good at explaining cultural concepts & gave us so much information about the temples that we visited. She also gave us ideas of places to visit ourselves. Loved the balance of cycling and looking around. We also enjoyed the opportunity to have lunch together & talk Thanks so much Magical Trip & especially Woohee!”

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