Rural Villages & Brewery Town: Private 1-Day Cycling Near Kyoto

11 Reviews | Shiga Prefecture

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5 hours to 6 hours

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Light Refreshment
Fees
Use of equipment
Professional Guide

All train fares (but covered by JR Pass if you have)
Food and drink
Food and drink

Overview

Just a 20 minute shinkansen ride from Kyoto to our starting point, we offer an easy way to explore small town rural life in Japan on this leisurely beginner-friendly ride, with a local resident guide, fluent in English, to help you enjoy our area’s unique geographical and historical points of interest. During the morning cycling tour, you will witness the beauty of local satoyama nature, wildlife, and rural communities. In the afternoon, take a leisurely walking tour to explore the historic brewery town of Kinomoto and interact with the friendly locals. After lunch at a local restaurant of your choice, we visit sake and soy sauce breweries that have been operating for many generations here as local family businesses. Sake tastings are available.

Meeting Point

Our guide will meet you in JR Maibara Station by the main ticket gates. To get to JR Maibara Station from JR Kyoto Station, please take the bullet train eastbound. Please note that some Hikari and all Nozomi do not stop at Maibara. We will inform you of the train schedule once confirmed.

End Point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

1. We’ll start the day with a peaceful e-bike ride through the serene landscape of traditional villages around Kinomoto, where you can explore the unique culture, age-old traditions, and spiritual devotion, all of with are intertwined and blended seamlessly with the natural environment. 2 hours

2. Kinomotojuku We enjoy lunch at a local restaurant of your choice, such as sushi, soba, local specialities, etc. 1 hour

3. Daiko Shoyu After lunch, our guide will bring you to Daiko Shoyu, a local family-run soy sauce brewery that has been in business for over 100 years. Soy sauce is also made with fermented mash, so production is actually quite similar to that of sake. Explore the varieties and uses of quality Japanese soy sauce. Aside from the active winter brewing season, visitors can usually also get a private look at the brewing area too. 30 minutes

4. Kinomoto Jizoin Temple This interesting local temple has a long history and is central to the Kinomoto Village community and traditions. Our guide will show you around the grounds and main hall while explaining its significance in local culture. People visit the main Jizo deity of this temple with prayers for vision care, using votive ceramic frog statuettes to leave as offerings. There is also a pitch dark maze for meditation underneath the main hall! 30 minutes

5. Yamaji Brewery Recognized as the 4th oldest sake brewery still running in Japan, this small brewery has been in business for almost 500 years! With several varieties of sake, they're also famous for a delicious and unique mulberry liquor. Depending on season and staffing, we may get to look at the brewing area behind the storefront, and the owners are happy to welcome our visitors with tastings. 30 minutes

Additional Info

Public transportation options are available nearby
Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
Not recommended for pregnant travelers
Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.

Learn more about cancellations.

Reviews

4.9

11 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

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We had a great experience touring New York City with Jonathan. He's a great tour guide and he made it very memorable and enjoyable. The tour was also super informative and I'm glad to have had a great tour guide during my visit in NYC. Would definitely recommend this tour to anyone looking for a tour her We had a great experience touring New York City with Jonathan. He's a great tour guide and he made it very memorable and enjoyable. The tour was also super informative and I'm glad to have had a great tour guide during my visit in NYC. Would definitely recommend this tour to anyone looking for a tour her We had a great experience touring New York City with Jonathan. He's a great tour guide and he made it very memorable and enjoyable. The tour was also super informative and I'm glad to have had a great tour guide during my visit in NYC. Would definitely recommend this tour to anyone looking for a tour her We had a great experience touring New York City with Jonathan. He's a great tour guide and he made it very memorable and enjoyable. The tour was also super informative and I'm glad to have had a great tour guide during my visit in NYC. Would definitely recommend this tour to anyone looking for a tour her We had a great experience touring New York City with Jonathan. He's a great tour guide and he made it very memorable and enjoyable. The tour was also super informative and I'm glad to have had a great tour guide during my visit in NYC. Would definitely recommend this tour to anyone looking for a tour her We had a great experience touring New York City with Jonathan. He's a great tour guide and he made it very memorable and enjoyable. The tour was also super informative and I'm glad to have had a great tour guide during my visit in NYC. Would definitely recommend this tour to anyone looking for a tour her

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