Tokyo Highlights 3-Hour Guided E-Bike Tour

Tsukiji and Ginza: the start of the ride

The tour starts in Tsukiji, the district that for decades hosted the world's most famous fish market. The wholesale market moved to Toyosu in 2018, but the outer market's narrow lanes of seafood stalls, knife shops and small eateries are still busy every morning, and the neighbourhood keeps its working, local character. After a safety briefing and a short practice, you set off on your e-bike.

Within minutes you are rolling through Ginza, Tokyo's most elegant shopping district, with its wide avenues, flagship stores and polished facades. Riding through Ginza on a bike gives you a very different view from the pavement: you see how the grand avenues give way to small side streets, and your guide shares how this former silver-minting quarter became a symbol of modern Tokyo.

Tokyo Imperial Palace

The Tokyo Imperial Palace stands on the site of Edo Castle, once the seat of the shoguns who ruled Japan for more than two centuries, and today the residence of the Emperor. What you see from outside are the broad moats, massive sloping stone walls built from fitted granite blocks, white-walled watchtowers and the gently curving pines along the outer garden, all set against the glass towers of Marunouchi.

On this e-bike tour you stop for about 10 minutes for photos at the palace plaza, with views towards the famous double bridge and the inner walls. The wide, car-free paths around the outer gardens are among the most pleasant places to cycle in Tokyo. Is the Imperial Palace worth visiting? For first-time visitors it is the best place to understand old Edo and modern Tokyo at a glance.

Tokyo Station and Nihonbashi

Tokyo Station's Marunouchi building, opened in 1914, is one of the city's best-loved landmarks: a long red-brick facade with white stone trim and two domed wings, carefully restored to its original look and reopened in 2012. You stop here for about 15 minutes and your guide explains how the station grew into one of the busiest railway hubs in the world, while the old building remains its elegant face.

From here you ride to Nihonbashi, the bridge that was the starting point of the five great highways of the Edo period and still serves as the zero point for distances on Japan's national roads. The present stone bridge, decorated with bronze lions and lamp posts, dates from 1911. The area around it, full of long-established merchant houses and department stores, is the historic commercial heart of Tokyo.

Kiyosumi Gardens

Kiyosumi Gardens is a classic Japanese stroll garden on the east side of the Sumida River, built around a large pond with small islands, arched bridges and a lakeside teahouse. Its special feature is the collection of beautiful natural rocks brought from all over Japan, including stepping stones that let you walk across the water, a favourite spot for photos and for watching the carp and turtles.

This is the longest stop on the City Route, about 40 minutes, and entry to the garden is included. After riding through busy streets it is a peaceful contrast, a chance to feel the essence of Japanese nature in the middle of the city. Spring brings cherry and azalea blossoms, autumn brings red and gold leaves, and in winter the pines and stones stand out against clear skies.

Tomioka Hachimangu Shrine and the Fukagawa area

Tomioka Hachimangu, founded in 1627, is the largest Hachiman shrine in Tokyo and the spiritual centre of Fukagawa, an old riverside neighbourhood of merchants and craftsmen. The shrine is also known as the birthplace of the public sumo tournaments of the Edo period, remembered today by monuments engraved with the names of the great grand champions in its grounds.

You spend about 20 minutes here with your guide, who explains the shrine's portable shrines and its lively summer festival, one of the three great festivals of old Edo. Along the way through this part of the city you also pass views of Tokyo Skytree and stop for traditional Japanese sweets, before an easy final ride back to Tsukiji. It is a side of Tokyo that most visitors never see.