Kyoto Car Rental Info

Hi all,

On December 27th (a Friday) I have hired a car from 8AM to 7:30PM from near Shijo Station in central Kyoto. This is a short distance from my accommodation.

My aim is to visit Amanohashidate & Ine with traveling tollways when relevant. I'm not asking if this is possible within the time (I know it is), but I wanted to know what to expect with traffic specifically getting to the tollway.

I've driven in Japan a lot but tend to shy away from driving around larger Japanese cities apart from driving through. Just wanting to get a heads up on how bad it may or may not be.....

Thanks in advance. I'm catching public transport for all of my other days in Kyoto as I'm aware of the futility of driving between temples in Kyoto and finding car parks etc....

Sir ,Thanks for considering public transport for your other days in kyoto
If you enter Japan with Tourist visa,then a lot of transport pass is applicable for you.If you come with non -Tourist visa,then someone will give you better info on transport pass.car rental is good.but my support is nil.public transport will give my 100% support.

Dear Jisan,

Thanks for your info. In the past I have used many train, bus, boat and aircraft passes to travel from Rebun Island to the Yaeyama islands and many places in between. In general I use public transport in the major cities but have decided to rent a car for one day to visit rural Kyoto prefecture. It would not be easily possible to visit the two locations by bus/train (Amanohashidate, Ine + other sites) in one day. As such - I was just after some feedback on how painful getting to the main tollway from central Kyoto (Shijo Station) will be.

Hi!

I want to stress, I have no experience in renting a car in Kyoto.. just being a pedestrian, sitting on a bus, and sitting in a taxi..

Is it possible to rent a car near Kameoka or Katsura instead? I think (particularly Kameoka) would get you out of any possible traffic but still be an easy commute back to central Kyoto at the end of the day. I think Katsura would also help.

Good luck!