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Biking in Kyoto 2019/1/30 12:46
I mostly train, bus and walk, but with the likelihood of crowded buses in Kyoto I'm considering biking, especially when heading out further ie Kinkaku, Arashiyama.

The KTCP bike rentals looks good and they have electric bikes too (I'm on holiday, things to ease the way are always good) so I'm thinking of hiring the bike at Kyoto station, head to Arashiyama, and work my way around Ninnaji, Ryoanji and Kinkakuji.

What I was wondering was what sort of bike parking is there around the temples? I assume there is some but is it close to the temples or more 'a block or so over'? Also if the parking area is full (I'm not sure how likely this is) what can you do to park there?

Also roughly how long would the legs of the journey take on a bike? Kyoto station to Arashiyama, Arashiyama to Kinkakuji, Kinkakuji back to Kyoto station?
by moonangelica (guest)  

Re: Biking in Kyoto 2019/1/30 22:56
Google maps will give you an good idea of how long it will take. There are areas in the car parks at all the major sites where you can park bikes so that's not a problem. Just don't try to ride to Kiyomizudera :)
by Stan Norrell rate this post as useful

Re: Biking in Kyoto 2019/1/31 05:28
Ahh, I keep forgetting google maps does travel time for things other than cars ^_^;

That's good to hear about the park spaces, and yeah I heard Kiyomizudera isn't great for bikes, but the day I'm heading there I'll be walking since I'll be in a kimono ^_^
by moonangelica (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Biking in Kyoto 2019/1/31 06:32
You could train to Arashiyama and rent a bike from there. I always thought it was quite a distance from Kyoto (20 minutes on the rapid trains), but if you did the big loop from Kyoto station and then across to Kinkakuji and back to Kyoto station then I suppose you have less issues with drop-offs.
by JapanCustomTours rate this post as useful

Re: Biking in Kyoto 2019/1/31 08:26
Google maps for Japan actually doesnft give you specific bicycle times, BUT it gives you the distance and you can guess on your own.

If you do get a bicycle my recommendation for Arashiyama is to spend most of the day there and explore BEYOND the bamboo grove. The central area of Arashiyama gets nowadays very busy with tourists BUT most of them gneedh to go somewhere else on that day too. So they really only go to the bamboo grove and one temple. However as soon as you get only slightly away from these main attractions Arashiyama is still nice, but much less touristic. A bicycle allows you to extend your radius easily.

http://bicycletraveljapan.blogspot.com/2018/09/tranquil-part-of-arashi...

As you can see there is also another bamboo grove that you can have all to your own, just behind Kokedera. You can walk from there through the grove back to Arashiyama. (But then Obviously you canft come by bicycle or you need to walk back again). I donft know where the entrance to that grove in Arashiyama is, because I only saw it behind Kokedera. If you want to spend the entire day, you could consider reserving at Kokedera a visit.

Regarding bicycle parking, yes that should be no problem at any of the temples or Shrines.

Enjoy your trip to Kyoto!
by LikeBike (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Biking in Kyoto 2019/1/31 11:20
If you like to walk you can also take the train to Arashiyama and then the Keifuku train line to a station near Ninnaji and then walk to Ninnaji, Ryoanji and Kinkakuji. You could then either taxi it to the nearest subway station or you could walk to Enmachi Station to catch a train back to JR Kyoto.

My at the time 7 year old walked from Nijo Station to the Kyoto Takashimaya (though we stopped at a cafe on the way to drink cloud coffee and plant pudding.)

Good luck!
by rkold rate this post as useful

Re: Biking in Kyoto 2019/1/31 16:22
I agree with what all above have said about Arashiyama. My comment about Kiyomizudera was because it does get very crowded & is at the top of a large hill :)
by Stan Norrell rate this post as useful

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