IC Cards on Kyoto Buses
Supplementing your Japan Rail Pass
IC Cards can now be used on Kyoto City Buses. Learn how this can help your travel with your Japan Rail Pass.
Travel with IC Cards in Kyoto
In previous travel tips, we've talked about the benefits of supplementing your Japan Rail Pass with an IC Card for larger metropolitan areas.
IC Card is a great way to zip around major cities like Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, and Kyoto on their city transit systems.
Good news for travellers, you can now pay with an IC Card on the Kyoto city bus system, which offers the most coverage of central Kyoto city and access to all of the top spots of this ancient capital.
Other Kyoto bus tips
- One trip on the bus is ¥230 (as of April, 2014). There is no discount for an IC Card.
- If you are using a JR Pass but not an IC Card, keep in mind that you can also buy a Day Pass right from the bus driver for ¥600.
- The machines at the front of the bus are multipurpose: they make change for bills and coins, stamp the date on a Day Pass, accept exact change for bus fares, and allow you to tap them with an IC Card (starting at the end of 2014)!
- Get on the bus at the back, and pay when you exit at the front.
Kyoto bus maps
The network will allow you to go everywhere in the city easily. Click here to see the bus Navi map.Most of the lines stops in Kyoto Station. Buses 100, 101, 102 are easy sightseeing buses named Raku buses:
- 100 : Higashima, Heian Schrine, Ginkaku ji Temple
- 101 : Nijo Castle, Kitano Tenmangu Schrine, Kinkaku ji Temple, Daitoku ji Temple
- 102 : Ginkaku ji Temple, KinKaku Ji Temple, Daitoku ji Temple