Pedaling Through Serene Villages & Historic Brewery Town

This tour is ideal for travelers seeking a calm day trip away from major cities such as Kyoto and an opportunity to experience rural and small-town life beyond standard sightseeing routes. It combines light cycling and walking with cultural context, along with encounters with people who sustain long-established local businesses.

Kinomoto is a historic town in northern Shiga where centuries-old breweries, merchant houses, and local traditions remain part of everyday life. Located along the old Hokkoku Kaido, it once connected Kyoto with the regions beyond Lake Biwa, bringing people, goods, and ideas through the town.

Abundant spring water from the surrounding mountains helped shape a culture of brewing and craftsmanship that continues today, while many family-run businesses still operate much as they have for generations.

Beyond the town, quiet villages lie scattered among the hills and valleys. Here, traditions, local faith, and daily life remain closely connected to the surrounding landscape. Together, they offer a glimpse of a side of Japan that has changed more slowly, where traces of the past continue to shape the present.

Your guide meets you at JR Maibara Station (a Shinkansen stop, approx. 20 minutes from Kyoto). Together, you take a short local train to JR Kinomoto Station, where the journey truly begins.

From there, you set out on a relaxed e-bike ride of approximately 13 km, following quiet rural roads through satoyama villages, rice fields, and waterways. Along the way, the guide introduces how village life, agriculture, and faith have shaped this landscape over time.

After returning the bicycles, enjoy lunch at a local Japanese restaurant serving regional dishes.

In the afternoon, begin a walking tour of Kinomoto, a town that has prospered through fermentation since medieval times (approx. 2 km).

The walk includes a visit to Yamaji Shuzo for sake tasting and a stop at a traditional soy sauce brewery. Along the way, you explore local shops and historic streets that reflect how fermentation has shaped not only commerce, but the rhythms of daily life. Guided stops also include a local Buddhist temple and long-established confectionery shops, offering further insight into the town’s cultural and spiritual foundations.

As you move through this centuries-old streetscape, you encounter a tradition rooted in craft and patience — one that continues quietly into the present.

• Seasonal operation: March to mid-November (except August, Mondays & Wednesdays)
• Start time: 9:00 am
• Standard Meeting point: JR Maibara Station/tour concludes at Kinomoto Station
• Suitable for ages 13+ (minimum height guideline: approx. 152 cm)
• Alcohol tasting restricted to guests aged 20 or older

• E-bike cycling distance: approx. 13 km (flat and gentle grades)
• If riding becomes unsafe, the itinerary may be adjusted to walking or vehicle support
• Cycling under the influence of alcohol is prohibited; sake tasting takes place after cycling

• Recommended for ages 13 and above.
• Guests under 18 must be accompanied by an adult.

• The tour operates rain or shine (route may be adjusted).
• Heavy rain may replace cycling with a walking tour or vehicle support
• Guests are strongly advised to arrange their own travel insurance.