KYOTO - TRANSPORT
Getting to Kyoto
By plane
Kyoto does not have its own airport. The nearest international gateway
is Kansai International Airport, 73 minutes away by the fastest train.
Most domestic flights land at Osaka's
Itami Airport, one hour away by
bus.
 By train
Most visitors arrive at JR Kyoto Station by
Shinkansen (bullet train)
from Tokyo, 2 hours and 14 minutes away. For connections to nearby
cities, you can also take the private Hankyu or Keihan lines to
Osaka,
or the Kintetsu line to Nara.
By bus
The cheapest way of travelling from Tokyo or other distant points to
Kyoto is by night bus, which terminate at
Kyoto Station.
Get around Kyoto - Kyoto Transport
The city transportation is centered around Kyoto Station (京都駅, Kyoto-eki).
The station is the 2nd largest in Japan and holds a shopping mall,
hotel, movie theater, Isetan department store, and several local
government facilities under one fifteen-story roof. The Tōkaidō
Shinkansen Line (see below) as well as all local rail lines connect
here. For many travellers its is a hub of travel and a good place to
catch all the buses the city has to offer.
The sheer size of the city of Kyoto, and the distribution of tourist
attractions around the periphery of the city, make the city's public
transport system invaluable.
The Kansai Thru Pass (Surutto Kansai) stored-value card can be used on
all means of transportation in Kyoto (and the rest of the
Kansai
region), with the notable exception of JR trains. You can purchase the
cards in denominations starting at ¥1000 at any train or subway
station.
By bus
The bus network is the only practical way of reaching many
attractions. Most city buses have a fixed fare of ¥220, but you can
also purchase a one day pass (¥500 for adults and 250 yen for children
under 12) with which you can ride an unlimited number of times within
a one day period. The day passes can be bought from the bus drivers or
from the bus information centre just outside the
Kyoto Station. This
is especially useful if you plan on visiting many different points of
interest within Kyoto. You can also buy a combined unlimited train and
bus pass for ¥1200.
Unlike most Japanese buses, Kyoto's buses have announcements and
electronic signs in English. The municipal transport company publishes
a very useful leaflet called Bus Navi. It contains a route map for the
bus lines to most sights and fare information. You can pick it up at
the information center in front of the main station where you will
also find an English/Japanese computer terminal to assist you to find
the correct route and stop for your intended destination.
One further tip: do not confuse the Kyoto City buses (green) with the
Kiehan buses (red and white).
By train
The Keihan train line can be useful for travelling in eastern Kyoto,
while the two Keifuku tram lines are an attractive way of travelling
in the northwest.
By subway
Kyoto's subway network has two subway lines, the north-south Karasuma
Line and the west-east Tozai Line. Both are useful for travel in the
city center but not really suitable for temple-hopping.
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(Article
based on
Wikitravel article
by Wikitravel users Nzpcmad, Jose Ramos, John Grillo, Brian Kurkoski,
Howard Banwell, Mary and Yann Forget, Jpatokal, Huttite, Miknon and
MykReeve. Artilce used under
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 1.0.)
(Plus content based on
Wikipedia article and used under the
GNU Free Documentation License) |
