Travelling between Kyoto and Nara

I am going to Japan on my gap year, and because I cannot find a cheap enough (or available) hostel in Nara after my week's stay in Kyoto, I was considering booking another 4 days or so in Kyoto and travelling to Nara every day to sightsee there. Because I am on a Working Holiday Visa, I cannot get a rail pass, so could anyone tell me what the cheapest price of travelling between Kyoto and Nara would be, using the cheapest train or bus. Also, out of interest, what time would the last train/bus back to Kyoto be?

Thanks very much!

Looks like one way fare is around 690 JY. Also, from a quick check on Jorudan, it appears that the last train from Nara to Kyoto departs Nara at 11:22pm.
http://www.jorudan.co.jp/english/

I just came back from a 2 weeks trip to Japan, mainly in the Kansai area. This time we(my partner and I) didn't buy a pass but bought discounted tickets at stores easily found near major railway stations. Some of these tickets are good all day long, others only outside rush hours. One can buy several tickets-for a given destination-and use them as needed as they aren't dated. The savings were impressive thought, obviously, more so on a longer trip than a very short one. The drawback for tourists is that one must speak Japanese (in your case this will not be a problem?!). It also pays to compare prices between various places.
on a related matter we bought Sanyo passes in Japan (yen 20 000 for 4 days. there is another pas for 8 days) and went straight from Kansai airport to Hiroshima. We roamed around Hiroshima--our Toyoko inn was way out in the suburbs as we couldn't book in advance and all those in Hiroshima were full- and also went to Miyajima (definitely a must) and, another day, to Fukuoka for a day, then on the 4th day back to Osaka. It definitely was worth the money.

Thank you both for your incredibly helpful answers. I'm pleased to find out that the tickets are quite cheap, and also buying a stock of dateless tickets for a certain destination sounds a great idea.

Try Yougendo in Nara. It's a couple of stops down the line and their rates are very reaonable. I stayed there in August and both me and my partner fell in love with the place. The couple that run it are great.

Tey have a website yougendo.com

Hi Plantagenesta. I will be travelling to Osaka and was thinking of taking the shinkansen to Tokyo and Kyoto. Going by your post, looks like I should not buy the 7 day JR pass but try to get the discounted tickets? How long more would the train journeys be? Pls advise. I am really confused about the train system. Many thanks.

How to travel between Kyoto and Nara:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4107.html

NO,NO!! sorry if i gave the wrong impression!. discounted tickets are only for short distances. if you read my post again you will notice that we bought 4 days JR West Sanyo passes for long distance travel (between.Kansai airport and Fukuoka) then, once in Kobe and to to go back and forth between Osaka, Kobe and Kyoto we bought discounted tickets. The all Japan pass is a must if you want to travel long distance.

follow up:
we used the discounted tickets on limited express trains between Kobe and Kyoto or Osaka as they don't stop at every station, thus are faster. You can also use them on slower local trains (they stop everywhere) or use a limited express to go from here to there then a local for the rest of the trip. Once you are on a platform to go to Kyoto from Osaka for example, the electronic platform signs (they alternate every few seconds between Japanese and English) will show you that of the next three trains going to Kyoto some will be fast, other slow, so you may have to wait for the faster one. There are also P.A. announcements in clear English. DEPENDING ON THE PRICE of the tickets we used either JR, Hankyu or Hanshin (the last 2 are only in the Kansai). If you are from North America chances are it all sounds very complicated but it is not. Being originally from Europe I find the Japanese railways and subways familiar and even easier to use than the Euro ones.