Cycling from Kinkakuji to Arashiyama

Hi,

I will be visiting Kyoto in winter January 2014. I am planning to rent a bike and start cycling from Kinkakuji all the way to Arashiyama and then to Toei Uzumasa Eigamura.

My questions are:
1) How long does it take from Kinkakuji to Arashiyama by cycling?
2) Is there any bike parking at Arashiyama?
3) Should I take train from Arashiyama station to Toei Uzumasa Eigamura or cycling?
4) If by cycling, how long does it take from Arashiyama to Toei Uzumasa Eigamura?
5) Is there any bike parking at Toei Uzumasa Eigamura?
6) How long does it take to cycle from Toei Uzumasa Eigamura to Kyoto station?
7) If tired of cycling, is it possible to take the bike on board of train and return it at Kyoto station terminal?


Thank you for your response!

Kind regards,
Shoopshoop23

Hi

I did three days of bike riding in Kyoto on May. Kyoto is a very easy city to ride, since it is very flat, streets run eat-west or north-south and there is plenty of room for bikes. Almost an ideal city to ride.

1. Cannot say exactly but is is not a very long ride. An hour at max. I did ride sort of northern/northwestern edge of town. There is a bike path starting a bit west from the rectangular lake near Arashimaya. Try to find it, it takes you to Bamboo Forest. Rice fields and beautiful one family huoses on the way.

2. Certainly. Park where you see other bikes parked

3 No, ride it! You will be riding in urban streets so you may need a map. Not a long way.

4-5 see 1&2

7 I do not know about trains, but riding towards Kyoto station is easy: Just go towards Kyoto Tower. You will see it a long way out. This is a longet leg, but again, very interesting. HAve a break if you are tired.

Kyoto is a bike-friendly town, not too large for a regular rider.

May I ask how come you start your trip in Kinkakuji? A rental place there?

Checked from photos: it took me 45 minutes to ride from Arashimaya bamboo forest to Ryoan-ji, and I stopped several times on the way. So let�Ls say it is about an hour from Kinkaku-ji to Arashimaya.

Hi Constellation1649,

There is a bicycle terminal near Kinkakuji.
http://www.kctp.net/en/access/index.html#kinkakuji

Can I please know where can I have a look the photos you mention?

Thanks!

The photos are my own; just checked the time stamp in each photo to figure out the time i used to ride. They may not be useful to you, not much to see there.

Google Street View is a very good method to figure out which route you can take and what it looks like there.

If you provide me an e-mail address i can suggest some routes with screen captures.

Basically the route is quite simple and easy to ride. You will need a map but bike rental can surely provide one. There is a Kyoto cycling map, i used one to navigate.

The usual route from Kinkakuji to Arashiyama (including possible stops at Ryoanji, Ninnaji, Lake Hirozawa, Daikakuji, Nenbutsuji, Jojakukoji, etc.) is anything but flat. You'll be riding on flat ground less than 10% of the time. The route is very up and down. A bike with gears is recommended.

Even central Kyoto, which seems somewhat flat, runs downhill from the north to the south. If you ride from the north to the south you may not notice how easy it is until you ride the opposite direction and see how much more work it is going north.

I rode from near Nijojo (which is quite a bit farther away than Toei Uzumasa Eigamura) to Kinkakuji to Arashiyama (stopping at all of the places mentioned above and then some) and then from Arashiyama back to my hotel near Nijojo last week. Total time with meals was about 8 hours. Actual riding time was probably about 2-3 hours.

I'll be posting pictures from my recent ride before your trip (probably in September and October) here: http://traveljapanblog.com/wordpress/tag/kyoto/

Hi Kia,

I am interesting in the same route as yours. Can you find parking terminals near Ryoanji, Ninnaji, Lake Hirozawa, Daikakuji, Nenbutsuji, Jojakukoji???

Thanks in advance.