Kyoto Getting there & around

Getting there & away

Contents

Land

Bus

The overnight bus (JR Dream Kyoto Go) runs between Tokyo station (Yaesu-guchi long-distance bus stop) and Kyoto station Bus Terminal.

The trip takes about eight hours and there are usually two departures nightly in either direction, at 10pm (Friday, Saturday, Sunday and holidays) and 11pm (daily). The fare is ¥8180/14, 480 one way/return. You should be able to grab some sleep in the reclining seats. There is a similar service to/from Shinjuku station’s Shin-minami-guchi in Tokyo.

Other JR bus transport possibilities include one way/return Kanazawa ¥4060/6600 and Hiroshima ¥5500/10, 000.

Shinkansen (tokyo, osaka, nagoya & hakata)

Kyoto is on the Tōkaidō-San-yō Hikari shin­kansen line to/from Tokyo (¥13, 520, two hours 22 minutes); to/from Nagoya (¥5640, 36 minutes); to/from Osaka (¥2930, 14 minutes); and to/from Hakata (¥15, 610, three hours 15 minutes). Other stops on this line include Hiroshima, Okayama, Kōbe and Yokohama. The shinkansen operates to/from Kyoto station, in the south of town, and it goes to/from Tokyo, Shinagawa and Shin-Yokohama stations at the Tokyo end of the line.

Nara

Unless you have a Japan Rail Pass, the best option is the Kintetsu line (sometimes written in English as the Kinki Nippon railway) linking Kyoto (Kintetsu Kyoto station, on the south side of the main Kyoto station building) and Nara (Kintetsu Nara station). There are direct limited-express trains (¥1110, 33 minutes) and ordinary express trains (¥610, 45 minutes), which may require a change at Saidai-ji.

The JR Nara line connects Kyoto station with JR Nara station (shinkaisoku, ¥690, 46 minutes) but departures are often few and far between.

Osaka

The fastest train other than the shinkansen between Kyoto station and Osaka is the JR shinkaisoku (special rapid train), which takes 29 minutes (¥540). In Osaka, the train stops at both Shin-Osaka and Osaka stations.

There is also the cheaper private Hankyū line, which runs between Hankyū Kawaramachi, Karasuma and Ōmiya stations in Kyoto and Hankyū Umeda station in Osaka (tokkyū or limited express Umeda–Kawaramachi, ¥390, 40 minutes).

Alternatively, you can take the Keihan main line between Demachiyanagi, Sanjō, Shijō or Shichijō stations in Kyoto and Keihan Yodoyabashi station in Osaka (tokkyū to/from Sanjō ¥400, 45 minutes). Yodoyabashi is on the Midō-suji subway line.

Tokyo

The shinkansen line has the fastest and most frequent rail links. The journey can also be undertaken by a series of regular JR express trains, but keep in mind that it takes around eight hours and involves at least two (often three or four) changes along the way. The fare is ¥7980. Get the staff at the ticket counter to write down the exact details of each transfer for you when you buy your ticket.

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Hitching

Although we never recommend it, for long-distance hitching head for the Kyoto-Minami Interchange of the Meishin Expressway, about 4km south of Kyoto station. Take bus 19 from Kyoto station and get off when you reach the Meishin Expressway signs. From here you can hitch east towards Tokyo or west to southern Japan.

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Air

Kyoto is served by Osaka Itami airport, which handles mostly domestic traffic, and the new Kansai International Airport (KIX), which handles most international flights. There are frequent flights between Tokyo and Itami (¥18, 800, 70 minutes) but unless you’re very lucky with airport connections you’ll probably find it as quick and more convenient to take the shinkansen. There are ample connections to/from both airports, though the trip between Kansai International Airport and the city can be both expensive and time consuming.

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More Getting there & around in Kyoto

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