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Self drive around Nara & Kyoto 19-27 Nov 2019/10/18 22:13
We need your advice on self drive option around Nara and Kyoto for our upcoming trip 19-27 Nov 2019.

We have been to Kyoto for sakura almost 15 years ago. Cycled in the city then rented a car to Kanazawa, Shirakawa and back. This time we are back to see autumn foliage and want to visit Nara that we missed last trip. Thought we might be able to get to some less visited/less crowded places with a car. Correct me if I'm wrong.

I was thinking doing Nara before Kyoto. My initial plan was picking up a car at Kansai Airport, Koyasan temple stay (Fudo-in) for first night, then one night each at Mt.Yoshino (Yoshinoso Yukawaya), Akame 48 waterfalls (Taisenkaku), Nara Park (Kasuga Tsukihitei), Arashiyama (Rangetsu) or Ohara (OharaSansou), lastly Kyoto city for 3 nights (Solaria Nishitetsu). Will return car in Nara or Kyoto then use public transport in the city. What do you think of this plan? Would traffic and parking be too much a hassle during this period? I'm especially worried about travelling on 23 Nov, a Saturday cum public holiday if we were to drive from Nara to Ohara. Hope you could comment and advise. Thank you very much in advance!
by Lee (guest)  

Re: Self drive around Nara & Kyoto 19-27 Nov 2019/10/20 00:41
Hi Lee,

If you've not been to Kyoto in 15 years you are going to be shocked at how much more crowded and popular the city is. I took a break from visiting Japan between 2011-2015 and when I went back in 2016 the crowd levels were vastly different and every year since 2016 places like Kyoto and Osaka just get more crowded. On the bright hand side, it feels like there are a lot more accommodation options in both.

Last trip you did Kyoto to Kanazawa to Kyoto. Have you looked into drop off fees if you rent a car in Osaka prefecture and return it in Kyoto or even Nara? Even though everything is super close together just looking at the Orix website, I am seeing a 10,000 yen drop-off fee. It would behoove you to find a way to rent a car and return it within the same prefecture. I know when I rented my car in Ichinoseki, I would not have paid a drop-off fee to return it to Morioka or Shin-Hanamaki, since they are all in Iwate-ken.

I would not want to drive in downtown Nara. It sees a lot of tourist and deer.

I do think a rental car makes a huge difference near 48 Falls and if I was to go back, I would definitely rent one for your visit there. We just visited this past June. I found the Kintetsu line between Yamato-Yagi and Nabari ran pretty frequently, but the bus from Akameguchi was a lot less frequent and I don't remember seeing any taxis. The Station itself was tiny.

I guess in your position, I would look into where I could return my car in Osaka-ken that is not far from where you finish in Nara-ken and then just use JR or Kintetsu from there to go to Nara City. From Nara City I would just use trains to go to Kyoto.

Good luck!

by rkold rate this post as useful

Re: Self drive around Nara & Kyoto 19-27 Nov 2019/10/20 08:15
Basically I agree with rkold: Traffic in the city of Nara and Kyoto should be painful. Further, you need to find parking lots there which is quite difficult for strangers. I would consider renting car in Nara prefecture (and return it in the same prefecture, perhaps near Nara city). Koyasan is rather convenient if you use public transport.
by frog1954 rate this post as useful

Re: Self drive around Nara & Kyoto 19-27 Nov 2019/10/20 16:05

15 years ago, about 6 million tourists visited Japan, this year would be 35 million and more. So I agree, be prepared for the "crowd", and the traffic congestion if you are travelling during peak period. If I were you, I would use public transport where possible. Taxi could still be a better option for short distances, looking for parking could be a hassle you want to avoid.
by shinji (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Self drive around Nara & Kyoto 19-27 Nov 2019/10/20 16:11
If you can rent a car - I highly reccomend Asuka and Sakurai which are more rural but are quite pretty.

https://www.japan-guide.com/community/mfedley/report-3042
https://www.japan-guide.com/community/mfedley/report-3043

I also agree with not driving in Nara and Kyoto city. This is something that I am currently dreading (I've booked a car for 1 day to drive to outer Kyoto prefecture but pick up the car in central Kyoto, albeit in late December when it's slightly quieter)
by mfedley rate this post as useful

Re: Self drive around Nara & Kyoto 19-27 Nov 2019/10/20 23:13
Thank you all very much for the replies. I do take into accaount the expensive drop off fee. Appreciate your kind reminder and suggestions. I was thinking of renting the car from Kansai airport for the convenience and can visit Inuyakiyama's waterfalls and temple on the way to Koyasan (19/11 Tue). And from Koyasan to Mt Yoshino, we could go via Asuka and Tanzan-jinja (20/11 Wed). I'm happy that mfedley supports my plan of visiting Asuka. We love checking out Japan's pretty rural areas! Hasedera and Muroji are on our bucket list, would visit on our way from Mt Yoshino to Akame (21/11 Thu). I wonder whether the traffic and parking for these places during weekdays are less congested and manageable.

In Nara city we will limit our driving to our accommodation and Toyota Car Rental office for returning. Our accommodation is at the far east end of Nara Park, I thought if we approach from the east via Nara Kasuga Hospital, maybe we could avoid getting into the city as little as possible except for the last few kilometers (could be the worst few I reckon). From Akame to Nara, which route would you suggest?

As for Kyoto definitely no driving this time. Trains and subways are our new best friends besides bikes. Bikes might not be as convenient as before I'm afraid, read that there's parking problem for bikes too! I am actually considering staying in Sakura Terrace next to Kyoto Station instead of Ohara or Arashiyama to save all the hassles travelling with luggage on multiple transfers. Probably easier to do a day trip to those two places though a pity missing out some special Kyoto accommodation experiences especially those offered by Ohara. Hope you could suggest some nice places off the beaten path if there are any in Kyoto. It just crossed my mind that we may try our first ride on Shinkansen for a day trip! Sounds exciting. Any suggestion?

Hope to receive your most helpful input again. Many thanks again.
by offstone (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Self drive around Nara & Kyoto 19-27 Nov 2019/10/20 23:42
Oops, just realized I posted last tread under the name 'offstone'. It's me :-).
One more question, from Nara to Kyoto, which train is better - JR or Kintetsu? Need to reserve? We don't have much train experience in Japan. Mostly self drive, even on Rebun & Rishiri.
by Lee (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Self drive around Nara & Kyoto 19-27 Nov 2019/10/21 08:52
As my username might give away, I tend to use a bicycle also for traveling in Japan.

Definitely the region around Asuka, Sakurai etc is convenient with a car (or a bicycle). I used small streets but also on the big ones there isnft that much traffic. I went to Hasedera in early November 2 years ago (by bicycle) and remember a large parking lot. I remember it because they made me pay even for my minuscule brompton, which I thought was a bit of a theft, but wasnft willing to argue.

http://bicycletraveljapan.blogspot.com/2017/11/day-42-roundtrip-throug...
http://bicycletraveljapan.blogspot.com/search/label/Nara

For driving in Nara, as far as I remember from a bicycle saddle it didnft look so bad either. I wouldnft GO by car to sightsee in the center but if itfs only a mode of access it should be fine. If you have a car I would however consider to visit the more fared flung places of Nara instead. Nara city you can always visit w/o a car, Horyuji area is more complicated by public transport and really beautiful:

http://bicycletraveljapan.blogspot.com/2017/11/day-41-nara-to-yamatoya...

For cycling around Kyoto, maybe at some of the most famous temples it can be hard to find a parking lot for your bicycle but when I go nowadays I go to smaller locations and never had a problem parking my bicycle.

Here some locations in Kyoto I visited by bicycle:
http://bicycletraveljapan.blogspot.com/search/label/Kyoto?m=1

For train from Nara to Kyoto both jr and Kintetsu are convenient. Google maps will tell you which is easier for you to reach from your hotel. Kintetsu is a bit more central in Nara. I never reserved a seat. I think itfs mainly local commuter trains.

If you want to do a Shinkansen trip someplace like Himeiji, Hiroshima, Okayama ... would come to mind. Many people do reserve seats on Shinkansen, I personally generally donft (specially between Tokyo and Shin Osaka) because I travel alone and prefer the flexibility to just turn up at the station, buy a ticket and get onto the next Shinkansen 5 minutes or less later. No need to rush. No need to wait. If I still want to buy a bento, I can simply buy it and take the next train. I personally find that convenient but all my colleagues think I am crazy. Company would actually pay the reservation fee and even the green car fee ( which is reserved seats only).
However even if you do get a reservation if you are at the station way too early you can easily change it or just hop on unreserved car of an earlier train (you should really change it, so JR can make the seat available again) and if you are too late you can also just take an unreserved car. Note that there are certain Shinkansen which are reservation only, but none of them in the Kansai area as far as I am aware.

Enjoy your trip to Kansai!

Enjoy your trip to Kansai!
by LikeBike (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Self drive around Nara & Kyoto 19-27 Nov 2019/10/21 09:59
Anyone can give an estimate the extra hours needed if stuck in traffic jam around kyoto or nara city during peak hours?
by Ano (guest) rate this post as useful

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