Backstreets & Temples E-Bike Tour with Nanzenji & Heian Shrine Kyoto

Gion: start of the ride

The tour starts on Yamato-oji Street in Gion, Kyoto's best-known historic district, where wooden teahouses with lattice fronts line lanes such as Hanamikoji and the willow-shaded Shirakawa canal. Before setting off, your guide fits your e-bike, checks the height of the seat and explains how the electric assist works, then leads a short loop through the district.

Gion is at its most atmospheric early in the day, before the crowds arrive, which is why the morning starts are popular. You pass the edge of the old entertainment quarter and the gateway towards Yasaka Shrine, picking up the first stories of the tour: how Gion grew up around the shrine, and why its traditional arts have survived in this small corner of the city. About 20 minutes here sets the scene for a day spent among Kyoto's backstreets rather than its main roads.

Nanzen-ji Temple and the Lake Biwa aqueduct

A short ride east brings you to Nanzen-ji, the head temple of one of the main schools of Zen Buddhism, founded at the end of the 13th century. The first thing you see is the Sanmon, a massive two-storey wooden gate of the 17th century, about 22 metres high, standing among pines at the entrance to wide, peaceful grounds that are free to walk.

Deeper in the grounds stands the surprise that photographers love: a Western-style red-brick aqueduct built in the 1890s to carry water from Lake Biwa through the hills into Kyoto. Its moss-covered arches look almost Roman beside the temple halls, and in autumn the maples around it turn deep red. The tour spends about 30 minutes here. If you wonder whether Nanzen-ji is worth visiting, the mix of Zen architecture, gardens and engineering makes it one of the most rewarding temples in eastern Kyoto.

Heian Shrine and the giant torii

Heian Shrine was built in 1895 to celebrate 1,100 years since Kyoto became Japan's capital, and its bright vermilion halls copy, at a smaller scale, the ceremonial hall of the first imperial palace. Unlike the forest shrines of the city, it sits in a wide white gravel courtyard, which makes its colours stand out even more under a blue sky.

On the way in you ride beneath the shrine's giant vermilion torii, about 24 metres tall, which straddles the avenue in the Okazaki district and is one of the largest shrine gates in Japan. The guide explains the meaning of the gate, how to visit a Shinto shrine respectfully and how this area grew into Kyoto's cultural quarter, with museums and a zoo around it. The visit lasts about 30 minutes, with time for photos in the courtyard and under the torii.

The Philosopher's Path

Next the group rides north along the Philosopher's Path, a two-kilometre stone path beside a narrow canal at the foot of the eastern hills. It is named after a university philosopher who took this walk each day, and its quiet atmosphere, small bridges and moss-covered walls make it one of the loveliest routes in Kyoto at any season.

Cherry trees line the canal, so early April is the best time to visit the Philosopher's Path for blossom, while November brings brilliant maple colours and summer gives deep green shade. On an e-bike you cover the path at an easy pace, stopping where the guide points out a hidden shrine, a garden gate or a good spot for photos. About 30 minutes here gives a real feeling for the residential side of Kyoto that most bus tours skip.

Shimogamo Shrine and the Tadasu-no-Mori forest

Crossing to the north of the city, the ride reaches Shimogamo Shrine, one of the oldest shrines in Kyoto, older even than the city itself, and part of the UNESCO-listed historic monuments of ancient Kyoto. It stands where the Kamo and Takano rivers meet, and you approach it through Tadasu-no-Mori, a protected primeval forest of tall trees and small streams.

The long gravel path under the trees is one of the most peaceful places in the city, and the vermilion gate and halls at its end feel far from the busy streets. Each May the shrine shares one of Kyoto's three great festivals with its sister shrine upstream, with a procession in Heian-era costume. Your guide explains the shrine's link with the river and the forest during a visit of about 20 minutes, then the group sets off for the palace.

The Kyoto Imperial Palace and its park

The Kyoto Imperial Palace was the residence of Japan's emperors until the capital moved to Tokyo in 1869. The present halls were rebuilt in 1855 in the classic court style, and the palace sits inside Kyoto Gyoen, a huge public park of wide gravel avenues, old trees and lawns right in the centre of the city.

Riding the long avenues is a highlight of the tour: there are no cars, the views of the palace walls and gates are open, and in spring the weeping cherry trees in the north of the park draw crowds of photographers. The guide tells the story of the court that once lived here and how the city changed when it left. After about 30 minutes, the group rides back south through the backstreets to the starting point in Gion, where the tour ends.