My Makanai-inspired Bicycle Ride in Kyoto

Hot on the heels of my post on filming locations of “The Makanai – Cooking for the Maiko House” comes my Makanai-inspired bicycle ride itinerary to go with it. Yes, friends, this “middle aged female solo travel blog” appears to have morphed into a Japan wanderlust blog, but hey – it is what it is, and if you love japan. You might find some actual off the beaten track inspiration here. And Kyoto is a great city for cycling – I think that every time when I overtake yet another bus on my single-seed rental mamachari.

So onwards, and upwards, building on several trips to Kyoto, a post on Cycling in Kyoto and visiting places from “The Makanai” drama by Koreeda Hirokazu, here is a day trip on a bicycle inspired by the drama for a leisurely full-day trip by bicycle. Although the drama was filmed at the Toei Studios in Kyoto, you can visit some filming locations all over Kyoto.

Cycling in Kyoto

Cycling in Kyoto is great, as it’s mostly flat, and apart from some very crowded routes where bicycles and cars have to share the road, there is usually ample space for bicycles and dedicated cycling paths in Kyoto.

Bicycle hire is widely available. However, you will need to keep your wits about, as cyclists in Kyoto are of the fast and furious kind. Cyclists are allowed to enter one – way streets from both ways, which can quickly lead to a bit of confusion. Especially at four-way junctions, be totally clear who has right of way, and it in doubt, stop.

I have listed some bicycle-friendly accommodation at the end of this post. If you prefer to hire from a shop, J-Cycle would be my personal recommendation. You are only allowed to park bicycles in dedicated bicycle parking areas – while some are free, you have to pay a small fee for others. Have some coins ready to pay for bicycle parking. So, while it is okay to stop briefly for a few minutes, make sure not to lean your bicycle on any structures – most rental bikes come with their own stand, so they can stand freely. Much more detailed information can be found in my post on Cycling in Kyoto.

Why Cycle on a “Makanai”-inspired route?

Most the filming locations of “The Makanai”, apart from the scenes in and around Saku House, which were filmed at Kyoto Toei Studio Park, are in Gion, which is very easily accessible on foot, and less so by bicycle.

As you may have heard, Gion is a very popular place with tourists, and given its relatively small size, it can get crowded very quickly! So, by all means, visit Gion, but also give the locations that are further out a chance. There are lovely areas of Kyoto where some of these filming locations are, with very few tourists. They are fairly far apart, so travelling by bicycle will make the most sense to see them in a day.

And if you feel very energetic, you can also cycle out to Kyoto Toei Studio Park (JR Train Line from Nijo or Kyoto Station would be the other option) to visit their “Edo Town” where the immediate area of the Maiko House was filmed and where you may find Saku, the Maiko House, itself. However, these are active film sets so there will be no static preserved “Maiko House” set.

Early Morning: See Gion at its most uncrowded

Pick up your bicycle and try for an early start. Kyoto Traffic can be a bit daunting, especially on its main roads, and some roads are closed to traffic in the day time.

Start at Donguri-dori, cross the river Kamo on the bridge and head towards Gion. Gion is wonderfully empty any time before 9am.

Cycle the beautiful path along the Kamo river to the next bridge, which will be the busier Shijo-dori. Look right for the Minamiza Kabuki Theatre.

This is where the maiko and geiko visit a Kabuki performance in Episode 6. Don’t cycle along Shijo-dori – cycling is not permitted here. Continue along the Kamo river for about 200m until you cross Shirakawa Canal and see a tiny park, then turn right into Shirakawa Lane. This short road is where many of the key outside scenes of the drama were filmed, and it is usually rammed in the daytime until the evening.

Just savour having this beautiful street to yourself in the early morning. The street is lined with weeping willows , cherry and plum trees and traditional inns and restaurants. It features in many episodes. You will notice the Kaikakuni monument to your right – remembering the Showa-era poet Isamu Yoshii who praises Gion in the short poem chiselled into the stone. The poem is very short: “Oh so deeply I love Gion/
Even in my sleep/The stream runs beneath my pillow”. Mother Azusa pauses here for a short prayer.

Walk all the way to the Tatsumi Shrine and Tatsumi Bridge. so may scenes take place here, and it is a bit of a key location for those who love the show.

Pause at Tatsumi-jinja and admire the view from Tatsumi Bridge. If you are here in the early morning, it is okay to leave your bicycle on its stand at the side of the road for a few minutes, but if you plan to stay longer, park it in the bicycle park at Shijo Station – it is right next to the station on Shijo-dori – and continue into Gion on foot.

Although it is not in the show, I loved to having a coffee at Black Cat Coffee. It is basically take-out coffee, but you can sit at the little bamboo bench in front of the coffee shop and watch the few people that pass in the morning. If you are lucky, you might be able to observe beautiful wedding couples on a photo shoot.

Cross Tatsumi Bridge until you reach Shijo-dori again. Here, you will find many traditional Kyoto houses like those featured in the drama. Cross Shijo-dori – if you are early, it will be quiet, with shops still closed – you can return later. Turn left and go to the next traffic light and turn right into Hanamikoji-dori. you will see a distinctive red-walled building – this is Ichikiri-tei, a venue.

Admire a pretty empty Hanamikoji-dori with yet more restaurants and tea houses. You can also see Coffee Shop Noen at the corner, the place where the father-and-son kimono fitters meet for coffee.

Hanamikoji Street is public and in the early morning, you should encounter no problems. Taking photographs here is fine, just remember good road rules, cycle on the side of the road. Continue all the way along Hanamikoji Street until you see a large building to your left. This is”Gion Corner” the large annexe to the Gion Kobu Kaburenjo, The road then turns left.

While this shrine does not feature on the /makanai, the Yasui Konpiragu Shrine make a nice diversion – look for small torii about 100m down the street on your right. If you have some undesired ties to sever, you can get some spiritual assistance here by crawling through the hole in the stone – twice.

Continue seeing Gion in the morning while it’s less crowded

Continuing on the Makanai trip now, circle Gion Kobu Kaburenjo. The streets here are quite wide and closed to general traffic except taxis and deliveries, so they are lovely to cycle along.

You will then come to a smaller street crossing and you need to tread with care here, as the section of Gion to the left from here is private roads and an area that may be banned to tourists. Keep an eye out for signs to establish whether you are allowed to enter certains streets or not.

Turning left and immediately , you will see small torii between the houses. This is Oda Inari Shrine, guarded by sleek foxes. There are signs on this street forbidding photography. When I last visited, it was allowed to enter, and I think it would be okay to take a picture of the shrine alone. Walk quietly and admire the shrine quietly.

Yasaka Shrine and Northern Gion

So, you have made it through the Gion, and if you started early, the streets should still be fairly quiet. Then keep right until you reach Higashioji-dori. It’s a pretty unattractive and very busy road lined with not so upmarket-looking touristy establishments. If you happen to see queues at the Gion bus stop, you will know why I recommend cycling in Kyoto.

You will now see an impressive red gate to your left – the Nishiromon Gate to Yasaka Shrine. Unfortunately, there is no official bicycle parking lot at Yasaka Shrine. The nearest cycle parking lot would be the Shijo Station one, so you’d have to cycle down Tomoinogacho-dori, then walk back to visit Yasaka Shrine. Bit of a major inconvenience, but I would not park my bicycle anywhere unauthorized.

Or just skip Yasaka Shrine for the time being and return later, as it does get quite busy from about 10am onwards. It is open 24 hours a day and early mornings and evenings are the best times to visit.

So, let’s continue. I don’t blame you if you dislike Higashioji-dori – it is very busy and just not pleasant to cycle on. So it’s best to turn left into Tominomachi-dori, then turn right and head north until you come across Shirakawa Canal again.

My favourite smaller road in this area is Shinmonzen-dori – it’s quiet, has some old town houses and a mixture of antique, traditional and trendy shops. You will find the very traditional Owariya Incense Store here for you traditional chemical-free moth balls, Ujicha Kigetsudo for tea, Momotaro Jeans and, if you feel super rich, the Tadao Ando-designed Shinmonzen Hotel for accommodation – but see my reasonably priced accommodation tips later.

Anyway… that’s if you have time. To continue on the bicycle ride, you want to follow Shirakawa Canal north for one of the loveliest willow-lined streets of Higashiyama, little traffic, and for the Gyoja-bashi or Ippon-bashi, the narrow concrete bridge you see Kiyo and Sumire balancing in a few episodes. One morning while cycling here, I observed an old lady casually feeding some herons, just as you do.

The next big road you will cross is Sanjo Road. There is a conveniently located Lawson Convenience Store with an outdoor seating area. I often stop here in the early mornings when not much else is open.

You now have the option of adding a few temple visits from here – unrelated to the Makanai. The closest is just behind Lawson and called Kongo-ji, and it a bit of an under the radar autumn leaves watching spot. second closest is Shoren-in, about 200m away, painfully undervisited beautiful, free bicycle parking, a wonderful garden to sit and rest in.

Basically the streets to the North of Higashiyama Metro Station are full of hidden treasures – a Noh theatre, nice little restaurants, art museums, Heian-jingu and Okazaki Shrine –  if you’ve seen enough Makanai places, you can easily spend the rest of your day here.

For more Makanai, pedal downhill on Sanjo Street and cross Sanjo Ohashi Bridge. This bridge with its distinctive railings features in the makanai a lot – usually with Kiyo returning form one of her food shopping expeditions. Do you want to see Kiyo’s shopping destinations?  Then you need to pedal on a fair bit. 

From Sanjo Ohashi Bridge, follow th ebicycle path along kamo river, leaving the river to your left, for a few kilometres. It really is quite a beautiful ride, and because you care cycling off the road, quite leisurely. The path turns quite park-like the further north you go, and about 2km north of sanjo ohashi bridge you will se th eturtle stepping stones featured in the new year episode . soon after that, you come to a confluence of the kamo and Takano Rivers, so you want to cross one of the few bridges here and follow the Kamo River on the left. If you have time, make a little detaour to Shimogamo Shrine. although the shrine area is large and may take some time. 

Late Morning: Cycle out to the Kamo Shrines

If you had a very early start, it should be mid to late morning by now. Generally, I recommend having early starts in Kyoto, especially for normally busy areas like Gion. Nothing really opens before 10am, temples open around 9am, so a lot of visitors have a late start, too. The only problem is where to have breakfast -for me, that usually means convenience store sandwich and one of their not-bad-at-all coffees, or a generously sized breakfast at Komeda’s Coffee which usually open at 7am.

The furthest out of the Makanai’s Kyoto locations on this bicycle ride is Kamigamo Shrine, a beautiful Heian-era shrine , one of Japan’s oldest shrines and a UNESCO World Heritage site. It is here that Mother Azusa and Professor Tanabe go on one of their many walks hot-footing around relationship and marriage topics. Kamigamo Shrine is about 6km from Sanjo-ohashi Bridge on mostly flat terrain. You can also visit the Kyoto Botanical Garden on the way.

Don’t fancy pedalling that far? You can cheat a little, like I did, and just visit Shimogamo Shrine, which is closer and like Kamigamo, one of Kyoto’s Kamo Shrines situated near Kamo River. It looks quite similar, is just as old, and it is a UNESCO World Heritage site, too. 

Bit of Shopping and another Shrine Visit

Now that you have pedalled that far, it might be time for lunch? Don’t miss is Kiyo’s Shopping Arcade, the genteel Demachi Masugata Shotengai, where she chats to vendors, plays the raffle and buys croquettes. It’s one of those old-fashioned Shotengai, guaranteed without many tourists except hardcore Makanai fans.

To be honest, I really like the whole area – a slice of the uncrowded Kyoto. There are many smaller temples here that you may have all to yourselves even at crazy times like sakura season.  Whatever you do, stop at Demachi Futaba, a traditional sweets shop, for the sweet mochi, have a croquette, or just eat in one of the many small family restaurants in the area – no need to queue here.

If you want to veer off the Makanai path a bit, check out the serene Shokoku-ji and Myoken-ji temples. You may well be the only tourist here. There is another branch of Komeda’s Coffee I really live at Imadegawa Metro Station.

Return to Imadegawa-dori once you passed the Imperial Palace Park and look out for a torii on your right – this is Shiramine Shrine where Kiyo and Sumire pray for Kenta’s sporting success by rotating a marble orb. Shiramine is indeed dedicated to the sports, and you find the little monument here where you can turn the marble orb – it’s a lovely and pretty untouristy shrine. 

Then, if you still have the energy, cross Horikawa Street and go about 200m past the Archaeological museum and turn right into Omiya-dori, then go another 200m to find Kokadaya Konbu (岡田屋（昆布） – the place where Kiyo buys seaweed to make dashi in Episode 7. 

And now, all you have to do is cycle back and enjoy a bit of shopping and eating. You could stop off at Nishiki Market for the fluffy pancakes kiyo and sumire enjoyed in episode . The cafe is called Mikasadeco and Cafe.

Or head back to Shijo-dori and enjoy some Gion traditional shopping. I always loved the tenugui that Kiyo was sporting like a headband or a scarf. They are from Kamawanu, which is a Tokyo business (gah). So you can buy them at various locations in Tokyo, in the Takashimaya Nagoya station, at various museum shops around the country (I bought two in Ohara Museum in Kurashiki) or online. They are Yuzen-dyed, so a suitable Kansai alternative would be Nijiyura, a Sakai manufacturer. The Kyoto Nijiyura shop is 200m from Micasadeco at the Higashinotoin and Takoyakushi streets.

You also find a cluster of nice shops on Shijo-dori, even though it can be quite touristy. They are open until quite late at night, some until 22.00. So it is best to return or park the bicycle and return to Shijo-dori for the evening. A shop I really love is Eirakuya, who produce traditional and Kyoto-themes tenugui and furoshiki, perfect for high quality souvenirs but quite expensive – about twice as much compared to nijiyura or Kamawanu. Moving on on Shijo-dori, Yojiya has traditional Kyoto cosmetics and face blotting paper, and Kazurasei has traditional hair ornaments – with some suitable to everyday wearing. and finish off your Makanai-inspired trip where you started, with an evening stroll along Shirakawa lane!

I apologize for the absence of photos on this “last leg”! I only gotten a bit more comfortable with taking photographs in shops, always after asking for permission first. The answer tends to be usually positive ” yes, but you must not photographs people in the shop”. Also, I admit that on my last trip, I did not make it to Kamigamo and Shiramine Shrines, but my Makanai-inspired outings are far from done yet!

Where to stay

Of course, on a Makanai-inspired trip, staying in Gion would be your first thought. Gion is lovely, central, easy to reach by bus and train but it’s difficult to park any bicycles there.

The most budget-friendly yet somewhat traditional option is Kiraku Inn on beautiful Shinmonzen-dori, in a lovingly maintained kyoto townhouse. The small private rooms with shared bathrooms are an absolute steal considering you are in a prime Gion location. You have to like cats as there is Tama, the grumpy tomcat lording over the place.

I also stayed at Gion Shinmonso, a modern hotel with traditional Japanese rooms, which, given the central location and four-star rating, was very reasonably priced. If you are comfortable sitting and sleeping on tatami and don’t mind the fab communal bath, you should enjoy the very large rooms and very traditional Japanese atmosphere. According to the hotel’s web site can take part in ozashiki here, too, although when I stayed there, I wasn’t offered this and there was no information on how to book this.

The convenient option with bicycle hire included at just 500 JPY per day, is Guesthouse Soi. Location is pretty nice, close to Kiyomizudera. REally recommend if you are cycling or using taxis, as the buses can be very busy on nearby routes.

Another place I really love that comes with free bicycles is Higurashi-sou. Of all the places I recommend here, this is probably the closest to “Vintage Kyoto style” and comes quite close to the aesthetic of “The Makanai”. The catch? It’s near Nijo Castle, so nowhere near Gion. It is in a nice fairly untouristy area, so you’ll have to pedal down to Oike-dori in order to get to Sanjo Ohashi Bridge and kamo river, about 3km. Their free bicycles are sturdy mamachari, nothing fancy, so bring extra pedal power.

In the past, I always rented my bicycle from J-Cycle until I found the above accommodations wotith bicycles. Although all hotel bikes were fine, you can hire somewhat fancier and electric bicycles from J-Cycle. A good place to stay nearby would be WeBase Kyoto, with very cheap yet stylish private rooms, or the elegant modern Kyoto Itoya Hotel Mon. with a bus stop just 100m away and easy walking to the Downtown shops, these make a good base for when you are not cycling.

The Small Print

The research that went into this post was conducted between 2024 and 2025 but I visited Kyoto a few times before that, so I have a fairly good orientation of Kyoto – for a tourist. All trips were self organised, usually with everything booked individually by myself. I pay my way, so nothing in this post is sponsored. The only way I monetize this blog at present is by affiliate links on my accommodations through Booking.com. Please refer to my terms and Conditions for further detailed information.

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