Kyoto: Getting there & around

Orientation

The city is commonly divided into five sections - the raku-chū (central), raku-tō (eastern), raku-hoku (northern), raku-sai (western) and raku-nan (southern) areas of town, plus raku-gai , which refers to the outskirts of the city. It's laid out on a rectangular grid system based on the classical Chinese concept, and is easy to navigate. The main business district is in the south and centre of town; the less populated northern parts have a far greener feel, and you can still find people tending the rice fields sandwiched between apartment buildings. Although many of the major sights are in the centre, the best of Kyoto's sightseeing is on the fringes of the city in the north, east and west.

Getting There

• car

  The Meishin Expressway runs between Nagoya and Kōbe. The best access to Kyoto is from the Kyoto-Minami off-ramp (it will leave you on Rte 1, a few kilometres south of the city centre). Kyoto is also accessible from Osaka on Rte 1, Nishinomiya (Kōbe area) on Rte 171, from the western hills on Rte 9, or from the north (Sea of Japan) on the Shūzan Kaidō (Rte 162).

• ferry

  There are regular ferries running between Kansai and Korea and China. Domestic overnight ferries are an excellent way to save time and one night's accommodation costs. Osaka and Kōbe are the main ports for ferries between Kansai and Shikoku, Kyūshū and Okinawa. From the cities north of Kyoto you can also catch ferries as far north as Hokkaidō.

• train

  Kyoto is reached from most places in Japan by JR (Japan's main train company), but there are also several private lines connecting Kyoto with Nagoya, Nara, Osaka and Kōbe. Where they exist, private lines are always cheaper than JR.

  All stations are equipped with automatic ticket machines, which are simple to operate. Destinations and fares are all posted above the machines in both Japanese and English and once you've figured out the fare to your destination, just insert your money and press the yen amount.

• plane

  Built on an artificial island and opened in 1994, KIX is now the first port of call for many visitors to Japan. With over 690 weekly departures, it handles flights to 76 cities and 32 countries worldwide, and chances are you can fly straight into KIX rather than flying into Tokyo's Narita and then having to make connections onward to Kyoto (overland or via nearby Osaka International Airport, better known as Itami).

  Itami airport has frequent flights to/from Tokyo (about 70 minutes) but unless you are very lucky with connections you'll probably find it more convenient and cheaper to take the shinkansen (bullet train). The trip between KIX and Kyoto can be quite expensive and time consuming; if you are flying domestically and have a choice of airports, always choose Itami.

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Getting Around

• bus

  Kyoto has an intricate network of bus routes providing an efficient way of getting around at moderate cost. Many of the routes used by visitors have announcements in English.

  The core timetable for buses is between 07:00 and 21:00 , though a few run earlier or later.

  The main bus terminals are Kyoto Station on the JR and Kintetsu lines, Sanjō Station on the Keihan line, Karasuma-Shijō Station on the Hankyū and Karasuma lines, and Kitaōji Station on the Karasuma line. The bus terminal at Kyoto Station is on the north side and has three main departure bays (departure points are indicated by the letter of the bay and number of the stop within that bay).

• car

  Unless you have specific needs, don't even entertain the idea of renting a car to tour the city - far more cost and headache than any traveller needs (not to mention the parking ticket fines). However, a car can be practical for touring some of the outlying rural areas; remember, drive on the lefthand side of the road in Japan.

• bicycle

  While the upside to cycling in Kyoto is clear, the downside is that the city has some of the world's worst public facilities for bike parking, and many bikes end up stolen or impounded during regular sweeps (in particular near entrances to train/subway stations).

• underground rail

  The quickest way to travel between the north and south of the city is the Karasuma subway line. The line has 15 stops and runs from Takeda in the far south, via Kyoto Station, to the Kyoto International Conference Hall (Kokusaikaikan Station) in the north.

  The east-west Tōzai subway line traverses Kyoto from Nijō Station in the west, meeting the Karasuma subway line at Karasuma-Oike Station, and continuing east to Sanjō Keihan, Yamashina and Rokujizō, in the east and southeast.

• Disabled Travellers

  Although Kyoto has made some attempts at making public facilities more accessible, its narrow streets and the terrain of sights such as temples and shrines make it a challenging city for people with disabilities, especially for those confined to wheelchairs.

  However, there are carriages on most trains that have areas set aside for those in wheelchairs. Those with other physical disabilities can use one of the seats set aside near the train exits, called yusen-zaseki . You'll also find these seats near the front of buses; usually they're a different colour from the regular seats.

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