travelling to Kyoto / Nara from Osaka

Hi,

i will be staying in Osaka for around 5 days. Within this five days, i would like to have 2 day trips, one to Kyoto and the other day to Nara

Understand that i can travel to Kyoto using the shinkansen from Shin-Osaka to Kyoto station. But from here, how do i get to places like the Golden Pavillion or Nijo Castle?

Secondly, how do i get to Nara from Osaka? Do i use the shinkansen service as well?

Thank you.

Actually there are many cheaper ways to get to Kyoto from Osaka

Shinkansen (Shin-Osaka to Kyoto) is 1420 yen -15 minutes

JR Special Rapid (Osaka to Kyoto) is 560 yen - 30 minutes

Hankyu Line (Umeda to Karasuma) is 400 yen - 40 minutes

Keihan Line (Yodoyabashi to Sanjo) is 410 yen - 51 minutes

Note that Karasuma Station & Sanjo Station are both in central Kyoto.

Where are u staying in Osaka? I recommend you choose according to your location.

There are many ways (again) to get to Kinkakuji. Easiest is you take the direct bus (101 or 205) from Kyoto Station or you can combine Subways & Buses to get there

For Nijo, its near the Nijojo-mae along the Tozai Subway Line.

Would highly recommend you consider the Kansai Thru Pass. Its not valid for JR lines, but valid for Keihan,Hankyu,Kyoto Subways and Buses etc, meaning you have flexibility

For Nara, either take the JR Line (45 mins, 800 yen from Osaka Station) or the Kintetsu Line (Osaka Namba to Kintetsu Nara, 30 Minutes+, 560 yen)

Also note that the Kansai Thru Pass is valid for the Kintetsu Line to Nara

Hope this helps :)

Hi kyoto fan (guest),

thanks for the very detailed post. it sure helps.

I will probably be getting the JR pass, so i believe i will just stick to riding on shinkansen, afraid it will get too messy with all the different passes.

In this case, can i check how do we make or know how much is needed to be pay for the bus fare when boarding the buses at Kyoto?

thanks! =)

Fair enough,

The buses in Kyoto have a flat rate of 220 yen per journey (unless ure going to the outskirts of Kyoto) .

I would recommend the daily bus pass, its 500 yen for unlimited number of buses rides inside Kyoto, unless you are taking only 2 bus rides

You can get the pass at the bus station at JR Kyoto station :)

if you stay not at Shin-Osaka area, shinkansen may not be convenient to go to Kyoto.
if you stay at JR Osaka area, JR Osaka - JR Shin-Osaka - [transfer to Shinkansen] - Kyoto. I think it takes 30 mins in total. you can directly go to Kyoto from JR Osaka in 30 mins.
if you stay at Tennoji, you need to change trains two times(by shinkansen) and one time (by regular) to Kyoto.
I generally choose the less transfer route.

hi both,

i will be staying at Hotel Kinki in Osaka, which i believe is around the JR osaka / Umeda area?

hence, with my JR pass, i will be able to take the train from JR Osaka to kyoto station direct? without needing to go back to Shin-Osaka?

Can i check what is the station to alight for Kyoto if i board the train from JR Osaka? Or do i still need to take the train to Shin-osaka and transfer to Kyoto?

thanks!

Yup, you can take the JR Special Rapid from Osaka direct to Kyoto (it takes about 30 mins)

This JR Special Rapid actually passes through Shin-Osaka during your journey :)

your closest station is JR Osaka.(JR Osaka and Umeda are the same area, but different names.) your train tracks at JR Osaka are from No.7 to No.10.(JR Kyoto Line). take either a Shin-Kaisoku train(run generally every 15 min), or a Kaisoku train(run generally every 15 min). if you want to confirm you catch a correct train, ask nearest Japanese the train goes to Kyoto.

when you go to Nara, go to track No.1 at JR Osaka station. take "Yamatoji-Kaisoku"(run generally every 15 min).

Hi both,

Once again, thanks alot for the above details. It definitely helps alot! =)

Or you could purchase a Kansai Surrutto CARD from various train station, they are apparently different name in different company but basically serves the same purpose.
It is a prepaid non IC card, similar to the old MRT/Bus card in Singapore before the implementation of IC card. It is not refundable but it is rather convenient albeit not the cheapest options, they have 1000, 2000, 3000 Yen options, not sure if there is more than 3000 Yen.