Kyoto, Japan

Getting around Kyoto

How to travel around Kyoto — 5 options, what they cost, and which booking apps fix the fare before you go.

Last updated 2026-08-09

1. Buses

The main way to reach the temples, with a day pass and famously slow at peak.

Cost: JPY 230 flat, day pass JPY 700

2. Subway and Keihan/Hankyu lines

Two subway lines plus private railways that reach Fushimi and Arashiyama faster than the bus.

3. Bicycle

Kyoto is flat and gridded, and cycling is by far the fastest way around the centre.

Cost: JPY 1,000–1,500 per day

4. Sagano Romantic Train

A scenic line along the Hozugawa gorge from Arashiyama.

Best time: Autumn

5. Shinkansen to Kyoto Station

Fifteen minutes from Osaka, two and a quarter hours from Tokyo.

Booking apps in Japan

Agreeing the fare in an app before you travel removes the argument at the end of the journey, which is where most transport scams happen. Links go to each app's official page — lookalike apps are themselves a scam.

GO

The largest Japanese taxi-hailing app, dispatching licensed metered taxis.

Coverage: Most prefectures, strongest in the big cities.
Why it helps: Dispatches a licensed metered taxi and records the trip, avoiding the long-route padding visitors get.

Uber

In Japan this hails licensed taxis rather than private cars.

Coverage: Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Fukuoka and others.
Why it helps: Fare is agreed in the app before the trip, and the route is recorded — which removes the refused meter, the tampered meter and the fixed 'foreigner price' in one move.

Suica / PASMO

Stored-value transit cards, addable to an iPhone or Android wallet and usable nationwide.

Coverage: Nationwide across most operators.

Japan Transit Planner

Route and fare planning across the dense private and JR rail networks.

Coverage: Nationwide.