Apr 8, 20213 min read

Emlog #01 ~Motorcycle Tour?!~

Updated: Apr 19, 2021

Hi everyone, it's Miho!! Thanks for coming to our site :)

On March 27th, I joined a motorcycle tour with another tour guide produced by

a motorbike shop "Leotanimoto".

Actually, this tour hasn't started yet, and I joined the pre-tour test to check the course and to give my opinions as a tour guide.

First, we went around Kiyomizudera-temple, the famous temple with the stage.

We didn't go to the stage, but we saw the gate and the beautiful cherry blossom in full bloom.

The weather this day was so great for riding a scooter!!

After having lunch, we went to the Heian-shrine, with the beautiful giant red torii gate, and went under the gate on the scooter!! I've gone underneath it by bus, but without a roof over your head, the scenery was completely different.

On the way to the next destination, we went to get a snack :) This is one of the most famous sweets in Kyoto called "Ajyarimochi" and you can also buy it at Kyoto station and other places in Kyoto too.

BUT this one is really special!!!!!!

It's because we were able to eat the one just made at the main store.

So it was still warm, and soooooo soft.

Inside this soft pancake, there is some sweet red bean paste. This store is located a little bit away from the famous sightseeing spots, so it was my first time to eat the just-made "Ajyarimochi" despite haiving lived in Kyoto more than 13 years.

Then we went to Kitano-tenmangu shrine and Hirano-jinjya shrine.

Kitano-tenmangu shrine is famous for the god of learning, and Hirano-jinjya shrine is famous for the cherry blossom.

←↑These pictures were taken at Hiranojinjya-shrine.

After checking out the Kinkakuji-temple (known as the "Golden Pavilion"), we headed back to the shop.

To tell the truth, it was my first time riding a scooter!

I do have a drivers license, and in Japan, if you have a drivers license for a car, you also can ride a motorcycle (up to 50cc).

They are planning this tour to have a bilingual tour guide and a traffic leading guide. If I get better riding a motorbike, I might consider guiding this tour myself!

I can't forget the breeze in my face during the tour and the scenery on the bike... I've been living in Kyoto for more than 13 years, and I've visited the places that we went around this day so many times, but this tour was totally a new experience for me.

If you know how to ride a motorbike and have a permitted international license to drive in Japan, it is going to be a new way to get around Kyoto.

The best parts of using a motorbike for transportation are

①roads are not crowded, ②no need to worry about the time of the transportation or the full parking lot, and ③you can choose your own course!

If this tour comes into fruition, would you want to join??

Leotanimoto already has a plan for renting motorbikes, so if you are familiar Kyoto already, how about going around the city on a motorcycle when you visit next time?