Kyoto City Bus and Raku Bus

I'll be bringing along with me 9 other family members (excl. me) to Kyoto in the next week (late June 2018). I thought of buying the Kyoto City Bus and Kyoto Bus 1-day Pass, costing only 600 yen and it includes the Raku buses as well. However, I came across an article that says Kyoto buses are always full and arent that neat. Again, I am bringing 9 other people with me, so how can we fit in one bus all at once? I've searched for sightseeing tours but none of them tick everything on my list and all are so expensive.

Here's our proposed itinerary:

Morning:
1.) Kinkakuji Temple
2.) Kyoto Imperial Palace
Afternoon:
1.) Nishiki Market
2.)Kiyomizudera Temple
3.) Inari Shrine

So, questions are:
1.) Are Kyoto buses ALWAYS full, especially on a Sunday (although not peak season)?
2.) Is there a sightseeing tour out there that is both affordable (max of Y3000/per) and ticks everything in our bucket list?
3.) Do you have any suggestions for a 1-day itinerary?

Yes, we are quite of a big group. So anything that would be as hassel-free as possible would great.

1)
It depends on the weather because in that period is already "rainy season" called "tsuyu" in Japanese.
http://www.punipunijapan.com/tsuyu/
Even though it rains everyday, although it rarely falls strongly,
it is a meteorological phenomenon that occurs when the "rainy front" bringing rain overlaps Japan.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DB4DA0wVoAA4CGT.jpg
The position of the rainy front (like a line) changes depending on the balance
btw High pressure and Low pressure, so it will rain or it will be sunny.
So, don't forget to watch weather forecast.
http://www.jma.go.jp/en/week/333.html
http://www.jma.go.jp/en/yoho/333.html
http://www.jma.go.jp/en/g3/
Basically, Raku bus is to go to famous sightseeing spots, so it is natural to be crowded.
A big baggage will get in the way of other passengers unless you enter the coin locker at Kyoto station.
http://www.kyoto-np.co.jp/local/article/20170729000135

2)
Use this web or apps for comparings.
http://www.arukumachikyoto.jp/index.php?lang=en

Hi!

I went nearly that exact week in June 2016+June 2017 and visited Kinkakuji in 2016. The buses are nearly almost always crowded. The earliest buses aka 8ish or earlier tend to be better than later buses, so they're just full not packed in like sardines. In the past, buses around 20:00 use to be better, but I've not taken one since Kyoto became a lot more crowded so no idea if this is still the case.

You will all be able to go on the bus, I've seen large groups get on buses. It's just going to be cramped and you will likely be standing. You might have to wait for the second bus depending on how many people are waiting ahead of you.

I am going to preface this by saying I like to walk. I like to walk a lot. I like walking a lot more than standing on a crowded bus and if I get hot or thirsty there are plenty of shops to stop at and grab ice cream or a soft drink or water. I find Kyoto a pleasure to walk in because it's a grid.

If you do an early bus to Kinkakuji and you like to walk, you can always walk the 3kms to Kitaoji Station (and stop and see Daitokuji on the way) and then take the subway to Kyoto Imperial Palace. If you're not walkers, this would be when it would make sense to wait and try to do a bus.

From the Imperial Palace I would definitely take the subway to Karasuma and just walk to Nishiki. It's only 600 meters. From Nishiki, just walk to Gion-Shijo. From there you can take the Keihan line to either Kiyomizu Gojo and walk to Kiyomizu (or take the bus or a taxi) or go directly to Inari. Both are stations on the Keihan line.

Heck, depending on where you are starting from, it might even make sense to do Fushimi Inari first, then Kiyomizudera, then do Nishiki, then the Imperial Palace and end with Kinkakuji.

It does not rain every single day during the daytime during rainy season, it just rains more often. In 2017, we were in Japan for 2 weeks from late June to early July. It rained our first full day in Japan, the day we went to Nara, and in the afternoon the day we were in Nagano and that was it, unless it rained at night when we were sleeping and we just didn't notice. Outside the day we were in Nara, it didn't really interrupt our sightseeing. In 2016, it rained the day we were in Hakone and I think one of our Kyoto days. It was surprisingly less disruptive both years than I expected though Japan was hot and humid.

Alright. I just checked the weather forecast and it says rainy, so I guess it will depend once we arrive. We can compromise on our sched until then.

Also, Imperial Palace and Kinkakuji cant be our last stops for the day because their admission hours are until 5 pm only, is that right?

Anyway, thanks a lot guys! Hoping that the weather will cooperate with us.