A professional, transparent operator with no surprises in the fare table. It charges the same as its rivals for the ride and ¥1,000 more for an English speaker you book ahead, and the stand is easy to find.
Good fortune
- Published fares, tax included, per rickshaw
- Fixed stand by Kaminarimon, easy to identify
- Clear rules on kids, strollers, pets and pregnancy
- Walk-ups always taken if you allow time
Tie it to the rack
- ¥1,000 extra to request English in advance
- Same base price as rivals, so no bargain
- Named-puller bookings have strict cancellation terms
At Senso-ji you tie a bad fortune to the rack and leave it behind. We use the same scale for our verdicts.
Ebisuya (えびす屋) is one of the biggest names in Japanese sightseeing rickshaws, with 271 of them across the country, and at Kaminarimon it is the one many visitors have heard of before they arrive. It's a good default. The fares are published, the stand is in a fixed spot, and the rules on children, luggage, rain and cancellation are all written down, which is not true of every puller working the gate. What it isn't is cheaper: a 30-minute ride is ¥10,000 for two or ¥9,000 for one, exactly what Jidaiya and Tokyo Rikisha charge. For the full comparison of operators and ride lengths, see our Asakusa rickshaw guide.
Prices are the lowest option the platform shows, in US dollars, and move with dates and exchange rates. The booking page is final. Prices checked: September 28, 2026.
The online listings above are Asakusa rickshaw rides you can book on GetYourGuide and Klook; we have not confirmed which company runs each one. If you want Ebisuya specifically, book on its own site, by phone, or through KKday or Rakuten, which list it by name.
The company
Ebisuya began in 1992 in Arashiyama, on the western edge of Kyoto, with three rickshaws. The company behind it, Berry Project Co., was registered in March that year. Asakusa came later: a franchised Kaminarimon stand opened in March 1999, Ebisuya took it over and ran it directly from April 2009, and it was renamed the Asakusa store in May 2015. Today the group runs 271 rickshaws across 11 locations, including Otaru, Hakodate, Kamakura, Nara, Kurashiki, Miyajima and Yufuin.
That history matters for one reason: don't let anyone sell you Ebisuya as "Asakusa's oldest". It isn't. Jidaiya started pulling at Kaminarimon in 1997 and claims to be the first sightseeing rickshaw in Asakusa. Ebisuya's strength is scale and consistency, not seniority. Both companies belong to the Asakusa sightseeing rickshaw union.
Ebisuya lists a run of TripAdvisor awards on its site, including the Certificate of Excellence four years in a row and a Travelers' Choice "Best of the Best". Its own customer page is warmer reading: one note is from a rider who finally took their 90-year-old mother on her first rickshaw ride.
Finding the stand
The stand is in front of Kaminarimon: face the gate and walk 30 seconds to your right. It's one minute from Ginza Line Asakusa Exit 1 and two minutes from Toei Asakusa Exit A4. Look for the Ebisuya sign and pullers with the character 雷 (thunder) on the back of their jackets. The office is at the Ebisuya Building, 1-34-2 Asakusa (tel 03-3847-4443). It opens at 9:30 every day; the last booking time changes with the season, so ask if you're planning an evening ride. You can pay in cash, by card or with cashless apps.
Prices
All fares are tax included and per rickshaw, not per person.
| Ride | Two riders | One rider |
|---|---|---|
| 12 min (walk-up only) | ¥5,000 | ¥4,000 |
| 30 min | ¥10,000 | ¥9,000 |
| 45 min | ¥15,000 | ¥13,000 |
| 60 min | ¥20,000 | ¥16,000 |
| Each 10 min after 60 | +¥3,000 | +¥2,500 |
| 180-min "Daimyo" course | ¥60,000 | ¥50,000 |
Extras are ¥1,000 per rickshaw each: requesting a specific puller, requesting a language (English, for example), and bringing pets (up to two small ones). If you want to be picked up or dropped off somewhere other than Kaminarimon, there's a delivery fee from ¥1,000.
Two named courses are on the menu. The 30-minute "East–West Shitamachi" ride is the popular one, and its model route runs from Kaminarimon along Denboin-dori, past Nitenmon gate to a Skytree viewpoint and back via Denboin. The 70-minute "power spot" course (¥23,000 / ¥18,500) visits local "power spots" said to bring good luck. Ebisuya's own recommended booking is a minimum 30-minute slot with the actual length agreed with your puller on the day.
The ride
Pullers talk throughout. Ebisuya says every store has English-speaking pullers; paying the ¥1,000 language fee is how you make sure you get one. They'll tell you where to eat afterwards and take photos at the scenic stops with your phone. Our advice is to ride at the start of your visit: you then walk Senso-ji and the back streets knowing what you're looking at.
It also handles the awkward cases well, and says so in writing:
- Kids. Up to two adults and two small children (5 and under) per rickshaw; one small child rides free on each adult's lap. There's no child fare, and primary-school children need their own seat. See Asakusa with kids for the rest of a family day.
- Luggage. One carry-on-size suitcase or stroller rides along; bigger bags wait at the stand.
- Pregnancy. Riders are accepted from week 17, with a seatbelt.
- Wheelchairs. One or two staff help wheelchair users board; the chair is kept at the stand or, if it is a light folding one, carried on the rickshaw.
- Weather. Rides go ahead in rain or snow under a hood and rain cover and stop for typhoons and heavy snow.
It publishes no weight limit. The 100 kg limit you may see on some kimono-and-rickshaw packages is set by the package, not by Ebisuya; see our Hanaka review.
Booking and cancellation
You don't have to book. Ebisuya says walk-ups will always get a ride if they allow time, although the 12-minute option is only sold at the stand. Book ahead if you need a fixed time, a named puller or a guaranteed English speaker, or if you are pairing the ride with a kimono rental.
Direct bookings are free to cancel until 16:00 the day before; after that you pay the full fare. Named-puller bookings are stricter: ¥1,000 from confirmation to a month out, 30% within seven days, 50% until 16:00 the day before, then 100%. Bookings made on other platforms follow that platform's terms; KKday, for example, lists free cancellation up to two days before.
Our verdict
Ebisuya is the rickshaw we'd point a first-time visitor to: easy to find, honest on price and clear about the rules. You pay for that clarity only in the extras, and ¥1,000 for a guaranteed English speaker is fair. If a puller from another company gives you a good pitch at the same published fare, there's no reason to refuse; just check the minutes and whether the price is per rickshaw before you climb in. After dark, the lit-up gates make a good backdrop; see Asakusa at night.
Compare Asakusa rickshaw rides online from US$34.98 · GetYourGuide