Kyoto City Bus/Raku Bus

Hello! We're planning a trip to Kyoto sometime in September and may be a little limited on time. We'd like to start off the day going to Ryoan-ji temple then move on to Kinakaku-ji and then the rest of the sites depending on the time left.

Questions:

1. What time does the earliest city bus or raku bus leave Kyoto sta.?

I'm trying to consider which way is more efficient, if its to take Raku bus 101 to Kinkaku-ji then transfer to City bus 59 bound for Ryoan-ji.

OR

to take the earliest subway Karasuma line bound for Kitaoji sta. then take the bus 101 for Kinkakuji-michi then transfer again via bus 59 to Ryoanji?

2. Can the One Day City Bus pass be purchased the day before then be used during the next day? If not, what time does the stores selling these open the earliest? I found that the one in Kyoto sta. still opens at 10am and was wondering if there's one that opens earlier.

3. How will you know which direction a certain bus heads to? Ex. for City Bus 59, it can either go East/west bound, do they also indicate in the stops which way it goes?

Thank you so much in advance.

What time does the earliest city bus or raku bus leave Kyoto sta.?

Bus 205, which provides a direct connection from Kyoto Station to Kinkakuji, starts running at 5:36. Frequent departures from 6:06.

Bus 101, which also provides a direct connection, starts operating at 8:00.

A third route would be taking the Karasuma Subway Line to Kitaoji Station and a bus or taxi from there to Kinkakuji. This reduces the risk of getting stuck in traffic jams. The subway runs from 5:27.

Bus 59 starts running from 7:15. You can also walk from Kinkakuji to Ryoanji in about 20 minutes.

Can the One Day City Bus pass be purchased the day before then be used during the next day?

You can buy them from the bus driver, in case you can't buy them anywhere else.

The bus ticket counter in front of Kyoto Station is open from 7:30:
http://www.city.kyoto.lg.jp/kotsu/page/0000033700.html

How will you know which direction a certain bus heads to? Ex. for City Bus 59, it can either go East/west bound, do they also indicate in the stops which way it goes?

Signs will tell you in Japanese and probably English, although, I can't remember whether all buses have English signs.

Thanks Uji!

Would you know approx. how much would the taxi fare be if we take it from Kita-oji going to Ryoanji?