Kyoto bus or subway?

Hi:

My family (including a 7-yr old) wil be visiting Kyoto in early April and had questions about public transport. Our itinerary for the three days is below, and my questions are right after that. We are staying at Matsubaya Ryokan on Day 1 which is about 10 mins walk from the Kyoto station. Their address is Nishi-iru, Higashinotouin, Kamijuzuyamachi-dori, Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto-city, Zip code 600-8150. On Days 2 and 3, we will be at Aranvert Hotel (179, Shimogyo Ward, Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture 600-8107).

Day 1 (from Matsubaya Ryokan):
- Sanjusangendo Hall
- Kiyomizu Temple (Kiyomizudera)
- Jishu Shrine
- Maruyama Park (for lit Cherry Blossoms in the night)

Day 2 (from Aranvert Hotel):
- Ginkakuji, the Temple of the Silver Pavilion
- Philosopher's Pathway
- Heian Shrine and Garden
- Kyoto Handicraft center
- Nijo Castle (if time permits)

Day 3 (from Aranvert Hotel):
- Kinkakuji (Temple of the Golden Pavilion)
- Ryoanji Temple

1. I am looking at the different pass options here (http://www.city.kyoto.jp/koho/eng/access/transport.html) and was hoping if you could recommend which pass to buy.
2. Based on my itinerary, should I use bus or subway? Which one is convenient for non-Japanese speaking travelers?

Thanks,
D

In early April Kyoto will be extremely crowded. Avoid taking buses, they're gonna be too full anyways. I remember that we had to wait for the next bus, because the one we wanted to take was too full! :(

I think subways will be crowded as well.
Not as crowded as the busses, since Raku busses take you to the door steps on said places.


I wonder if you can really do that much in 3 days. I remember being in Tokyo and only being able to do 2 things. Since all its beauty was so time consuming.

Both buses and subways pronounce the next destination.

Fastest way of traveling: Subway
Though, the Rakubus is much faster than any other city bus, since it only stops at a few stops.

Thanks for the replies. Do you know what the taxi fares will be for the attractions on my itinerary... ...at least for the first and last one points of interests?

Kyoto taxi fares start at \640 for the first 2km.

Seeing how the first one is 1.2 km

The last one is 6.5 KM from
Ryoanji to kyoto station.

So that'll cost a lot more.
So, I'd take the bus back to the station if I were you. The Raku bus should stop there.

Just thinking outside the box here. My guess is getting on the bus should be no problem if you are at the starting point, i.e. kyoto station. Your hotel is close to the subway stop, so you could backtrack to to Kyoto Station first.

But with 3 people taxis might work out pretty well.

Hi
The first day is best from Kyoto station very close to your Ryokan and take the bus which will take you directly to Kiyomizudera.
Or go to Gojo-dori on foot (15 minutes) and take a taxi for 640 yen.
Then you can go on foot to Yasaka Shrine and Gion through Kodai-ji and Ishibe Koji.

http://soleilrouge.org/blog/lire-article-240173-9713431-kodai_ji__un_temple_de_kyoto_a_decouvrir_.html
http://soleilrouge.org/blog/lire-article-240173-9723231-ishibe_koji_et_shirakawa__deux_lieux_traditionnels.html

The rest of your visits to this first day can easily be done on foot. To enter Maruyama evening, take a taxi, it is more convenient. It will cost about 640 yen.
Your hotel is next to the city center, to Gojo, but this is not necessarily an advantage for visits to other days.
The Kyoto subway is very basic and does not really get closer to the main places to visit. If you take it, you should take a taxi to complete the journey. But it can be interesting. I often like this in Kyoto. We are three, it's almost the same price as the bus and much faster.
In addition, there are taxis everywhere, just look at them and they stop ...
For example, to go to Kinkakuji, take the Karasuma subway line and get off at the station Imadegawa.
Then you either take a taxi and go directly then you could go and walk 1 km you will find the temple Kitano tenmengu for the success of schooling ...

http://soleilrouge.org/blog/lire-article-240173-3095701-kitano_tenman_gu__temple_pour_etudiants.html

After Kinkakuji, it is easy to go on foot to Ryoan-ji
Then I suggest you take a taxi to go to the bridge and Arashiyama Togetsukyo.
To return to the center of Kyoto, then take the tram the oldest in the city (there are still cars in time) to Sagatenryuji Tsukurimichicho till the end of Omiya. You can then take the subway to the same station Karasuma / Oike and change direction until Gojo Kyoto station near your hotel.
I suggest you spend some time in the evening in the streets covered Kawaramachi and time dean Nishiki-dori morning to see the Kyoto market.

http://soleilrouge.org/blog/lire-article-240173-1573421-kawaramachi_1__shopping_au_centre_de_kyoto.html
http://soleilrouge.org/blog/lire-article-240173-1573457-kawaramachi_2___la_cuisine_de_kyoto_.html

To go to Ginkakuji, you can also take the metro to Imadegawa then take a taxi ...
Note: If you do not parlz Japanese, prepare fact sheets on places you want to go and just show the taxi driver. Do not worry, it will go straight to the point ...

Vosu want to see if my experiences on Kyoto, follow the following two links:
The first to the main places of the city, the second for the temples that I have visited.

http://soleilrouge.org/blog/articles-cat-240173-295169-kyoto.html
http://soleilrouge.org/blog/articles-cat-240173-518839-kyoto__2000_temples__.html


If you have a few hours, I recommend the Fushimi Inari shrine in southern Kyoto, easily accessible by the Keihan line trains at the station kiyomizu gojo close to your hotel to Inari ... Unforgettable!

http://soleilrouge.org/blog/lire-article-240173-1573389-le_temple_de_fushimi__des_torii_par_milliers.html

Enjoy your stay in Kyoto!