Biking Kyoto

Something a little different today, we hired a couple of old dunga bikes and went on a sight seeing cruise up and down the Kamogawa River.

Kyoto is a great city for biking around as it's relatively flat and has lots of bike lanes. We hired our bikes for 500 yen each, which works out to around 5nzd - what a steal! We then rode up and down the Sakura lined Kamogawa River, about 15km in total. On our way we also spotted some local wildlife; a congregation of carp, a paddling Coypu (gigantic river rat), Grey Heron, and a Black Kite chilling in a tree.

After a quick stop for refreshments, we pedaled back upriver to return our bikes before dinner. We then caught a bus back to tonight's accommodation - a traditional style Japanese guest house.

The walls are rice paper, the doorways short (Nathan has to duck), and the floors are old and creaky. Although it was dark when we arrived, we took a couple of photos in the morning and you can see we definitely got an authentic experience!Read more