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Let’s discover Tokyo by bike! Join a 3-hour guided e-bike cycling tour exploring the city’s historic landmarks and scenic landscapes. TOKYO ACTIVE TOURS offer a unique blend of adventure and culture (as well as quizzes), making it the perfect way to experience Tokyo like never before!
You will visit a shrine and an old shops that have been around since the Edo period, hear the stories of the pioneers of Tokyo, and take a snack break with everyone. The guides speak Japanese, English, Chinese and Korean – another big plus of this tour.
🚲 TOKYO ACTIVE TOURS: Bicycle Tours 🚲
Languages available: English/ 日本語/ 中文/ 한국어
Time: 13:00-16:00 (about 3 hours)
Tour Fee (per person): 13,000 yen
(Includes guide fee, electric bicycle and helmet rental)
JTB Marunouchi, 1-4-1 Otemachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
Google Maps: https://maps.app.goo.gl/fYKGgbTxA4xGCAAN7
Nearest Stations: Otemachi Station, Tokyo Station
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© 2024 Chiyoda City Tourism Association. All rights reserved.
Marei: I have arrived! I am now joining a Tokyo cycling tour for tourists. Marei: I have to register first. Let’s go inside! Before the tour, you need to sign a paper and get a helmet. Marei: Nice to meet you! Mickey: Welcome! Mickey: Please read this and sign if you like.
Mickey: Please use one of the helmets. What is your size? Medium? Marei: Maybe I take the light colored one. Mickey: Good choice! Marei: Let me try. Marei: Oh, yes! I think it’s fine. Mickey: Nice to meet you! Mickey: My guide name is “Mickey”. Mickey: Let me introduce about “sokoiko!” cycling tours. Marei: Okay!
Mickey: “sokoiko!” is the name of our brand. We offer guided, educational, interactive cycling tours all over Japan. Mickey: “sokoiko!” means “Let’s go there!” (From Japanese “soko iko!”). Mickey: The title of today’s tour is “Special Tour to Learn about the Pioneer’s Passion and History from Edo to Tokyo in the Chiyoda Ward”.
Mickey: We will visit today several places. Before we leave, we learn the hand signs used by the guide. And we took a photo together! Mickey: Let’s bike through the sofisticated Marunouchi area with nice smiles on our faces! Mickey: Let’s go there! All: SOKOIKO! Mickey: OK, turn left, please!
Mickey: You can see Tokyo Station in front of us. Marei: Wow! It’s so beautiful! Mickey: This is Tokyo Station. We don’t usually stop here on our tours. Mickey: Today is special! Mickey: The weather is very nice, so let’s take a photo! Mickey: Smile! Don’t hesitate! Marei: Wow, great! Mickey: Let’s go!
Mickey: These are all cherry trees. Marei: So in spring, it’s very beautiful here? Mickey: Yeah. Try to imagine! Marei: Okay. I’ll do my best to imagine it (laughs). Mickey: This river is the Nihonbashi River. The Metropolitan Expressway runs over the river now, but it will eventually disappear to the underground.
Mickey: Kanda is located in the center of Tokyo. Mickey: It used to be a town of craftsmen. Mickey: Here are the names of each “neighborhood” in Kanda. Mickey: Many of the „town names“ have „Kanda“ at the beginning of their names.
Mickey: The last half of the name indicates the crafts (of the people working there). Mickey: For example, there is KANDA ROUSOKU-CHO. Mickey: “ROUSOKU” means candle, so they were making candles here. Marei: I see! Mickey: You have “KANDA KONYA-CHO”, KONYA is a dying shop. They were dying fabrics.
Mickey: There is also “KANDA HATAGO-CHO,” HATAGO means “inn”. So they ran many inns here. Mickey: Let’s speak some Edo dialect! Mickey: TONE TOH KEE TAH NAY Marei: TONE TOH … KEE TAH NAY Mickey: Yes, nice! Good pronunciation. Mickey: “I fell in love with you.” Marei: TONE TOH … KEE TAH NAY!! Mickey: Good!
Mickey: Next is “GATTEN DAH”. Marei: GATTEN DAH! Mickey: Now, what does that mean? Marei: “Got it”? (= understood) Mickey: Yes!! Marei: It’s like English, Got it! Mickey: It’s “Got it? Got it? Marei: GATTEN DAH! Mickey: So let’s go to the next spot! Mickey: Let’s go there! All: SOKOIKO!
Mickey: This is a soba restaurant. All: (It’s a very popular old restaurant), and usually there is a big line of people waiting to eat soba. Marei: It’s “soba”, so it’s a noodle dish, right? Mickey: Yes, it’s a Japanese dish. Have you ever eaten it? Marei: Yes, I have. Mickey: Was it good?
Marei: I like udon noodles better… (laughs) Marei: But there are many people inside! Marei: Is it because it’s a long-established and popular place with a long history? Mickey: The building was constructed in the Meiji Era (1884). Mickey: On the left is a historic chicken hot pot restaurant. Marei: Chicken hot pot!
Mickey: Ahhh, nice smell..! Mickey: This is another well-established restaurant. Mickey: This is Isegen. Mickey: “Ankou-nabe” is a restaurant. Marei: So, it’s fish? This is the only restaurant in Tokyo specializing in anglerfish cuisine, established in 1830. Akihabara has a lot of stores selling computer parts, games and anime goods.
And – there are actually many ramen stores! We found a cute vending machine in a corner of Akihabara’s electric town. This kind of discovery is one of the best parts of a cycling tour. Marei: I’ll take some pictures! Participant: Me too! Mickey: Is everybody here? No-one disappeared? Mickey: Let’s go to Kanda Myojin!
Marei: SOKOIKO! Mickey: Let’s go inside. Bow lightly. Marei: It’s so beautiful. Mickey: Originally Kanda Myojin was built in 730. Mickey: In the Edo era (1616), it was moved here Mickey: by the Tokugawa shogunate to protect Edo castle from bad luck.
Mickey: Daikoku-sama, one of the deities worshipped here, is the god of good harvest. Mickey: The benefit of “Ebisu-sama” is good fortune or money. Marei: Harvest, money … and? Micky: Misfortune. Marei: Oh! So it’s against misfortune? Mickey: Yes, yes, yes. The “Taira-no-Masakado-sama” protects people from bad things.
Mickey: Many Japanese office workers come here to pray for good fortune. A Shinto ceremony was just taking place. It was a great chance to listen to traditional musical instruments! Mickey: This is the historic “Tokyo Resurrection Cathedral”! Time for a snack! We all had taiyaki! Marei: It’s so crispy!
Marei: Shall I bit in its head? During the break, all participants enjoyed talking and getting to know each other. Next, we biked through the Ochanomizu area, famous for its sports stores and musical instruments stores, and Kanda Jimbocho, Tokyo’s “book town”. We enter Kitanomaru Garden. The famous “Nippon Budokan” hall is located here.
A concert of the Japanese J-POP band “Spitz” was just held there. Time for a little karaoke! Mickey: The people in the car are looking! All: La, la, la, la~! Mickey: We have arrived at the Imperial Palace Outer Garden area. Mickey: Do you know where the current “capital” of Japan is located?
Marei: The current capital? Huh? I thought it was Tokyo… no? Participant 1: Me too! Participant 2: Me too! Mickey: Surprisingly… Marei: Surprisingly? Mickey: Surprisingly, Tokyo is not the capital of Japan by law. Participant 1: Oh my god! Marei: Oh my god!
Afterwards, our guide explained us why. If you want to know, please join the tour! The area around the Imperial Palace is popular as a running course. The view from Miyake-zaka hill in Sakuradamon Gate area is especially beautiful! Back to the Marunouchi area. Mickey: Today we biked around Chiyoda Ward in Tokyo and learned about the history and passion of the city’s pioneers. Marei: That’s true. Mickey: How did you feel? Marei: I felt the passion of the pioneers! Marei: I also felt your passion! Mickey: Which story did you like the best?
Marei: The story about the Japanese “capital” was impressive. Marei: Thank you very much for the wonderful tour! It was really interesting!