I love cycling through Japan's beautiful countryside, and one route I especially enjoyed while I was living in Kyoto was to ride North along the Takano River, a road which will eventually take you to Ohara. There is plenty to see along the way!
Yase and Takano River
On the edge of Kyoto at the foot of Mount Hiei is Yase - an absolutely lovely green area around the Hieizan cable car station. Through June and July there are many hydrangeas blooming there. In the heat of summer people enjoy picnicking beside the river and frolicking in the river's cooling flow. There are also some appealing restaurants that offer outdoor riverside dining.
Restaurant and pickles
Further along the road you will see a wooden Japanese style restaurant named Doishibazuke (土井志ば漬本舗） which has an attached pickle shop with a wonderful range of delicious pickles. Behind the restaurant you can see fields of red shiso (perilla) which is used in many different kinds of pickles. Opposite the restaurant is a huge pickle factory. The company that owns all this started in the Ohara area 115 years ago.
Temples and shrines
Ohara has some very pretty temples including Sanzen-in, Jakko-in, Raigo-in, Jikko-in, Hōsen-in and also Shōrin-in. I didn't actually visit any of the temples, but the ones I saw looked really good peering in from outside. Lots of stone paving and lanterns, big trees and moss, and of course the beautiful temple buildings. If you venture up past Raigo-in there is a waterfall too, but I didn't go and see that either. The roadside near Sanzen-in is lined with charmingly traditional wooden stores and restaurants.
Country scenery
Apart from all the above-mentioned things, you'll see steeply pitched roofs that tell of winter snowfalls, dark green Japanese cedars standing straight and tall on the hillsides, rice fields and bamboo woods, all under a wide sky. I love the Japanese countryside!
Best time to go
Ohara is famous for its autumn scenery, and as you might suppose, it gets very busy in autumn. The area is also lovely in June and July when the hydrangeas are blooming and all the greens are really intense. I did this ride in July, and also in early spring, and I loved it both times.
The distance between Kyoto Station and Sanzen-in Temple is about 18.5 kilometers. In a few places the road is kind of narrow (often a problem in Japan), so be careful of the traffic.
