Kyoto in four days: routing a city with no bus pass

Afternoon

In from Osaka on the JR Special Rapid — ¥580 and 29 minutes, no seat reservation needed. Drop bags at the hotel and keep the day light.

Dusk

Fushimi Inari Taisha. No admission fee, no closing time, lit until late: the arrival-day sight that costs nothing and does not care what time you landed.

Evening

Gion — Hanamikoji, Shirakawa and the Kamo river bank — then food in Pontocho.

Trap Everyone photographs the first 200 metres of torii and turns back; the actual summit loop is a two-hour climb. Decide before you start climbing — and note the shrine is on its own JR line, so it is a poor evening stop if you are sleeping in the south of the city.

Early

Kiyomizu-dera at opening — ¥500 for adults, ¥200 for primary and middle school. The terrace fills by 09:30, so being early is the whole game.

Midday

Walk down Sannenzaka and Ninenzaka, past Kodaiji (¥600-ish area temples), to Yasaka Shrine and into Gion. Lunch at Nishiki Market — a grilled skewer at a stall like Uoriki is about ¥500, so a market lunch is a snack crawl, not a meal.

Afternoon

Nijo Castle: ¥800 for the grounds, or ¥1,300 with the Ninomaru Palace — and ¥700 for entry if you show the 1-Day Pass. The Honmaru Palace needs a separate ¥1,000 reservation.

Evening

From late October: an autumn night viewing. Kodaiji runs 23 October–13 December at ¥800; To-ji runs 31 October–13 December at ¥1,000; Chion-in, Shoren-in and Hogon-in light up through November.

Trap This is the day people destroy by bus. Higashiyama is a walking district — the buses that run up to Kiyomizu are the worst offenders for queues, and the walk from Gion is 25 minutes downhill home.

Early

JR Sagano Line from Kyoto Station to Saga-Arashiyama: about 11 minutes, which is why you take the train and not the bus. Bamboo grove and Tenryu-ji before the crowds.

Midday

Sagano Romantic Train, ¥880 one way for adults, 7.3 km and about 25 minutes from Torokko-Saga to Torokko-Kameoka. Reserve this one — the open carriages sell out first.

Afternoon

Back through the city on the Randen tram (a flat ¥250, or ¥700 for the Randen 1-day pass) and on to Kinkaku-ji, ¥500, whose gold pavilion is the single most photographed thing in Kyoto.

Evening

Ryoan-ji if you still have daylight — ¥600 for adults — or eat yudofu: a proper tofu lunch runs ¥3,000–5,999 a head at the famous houses near Kiyomizu.

Trap Kinkaku-ji is nowhere near a subway line: the bus from the station takes 40 minutes and crawls in traffic. Do it on the way back from Arashiyama by tram and bus, or accept a taxi for the last leg.

Morning

Ginkaku-ji, whose admission went up to ¥1,000 for adults on 1 April 2026 — its first rise in 32 years — then the Philosopher's Path, which is free and the best walking hour in the city.

Alternative

Kyoto Imperial Palace, free and open year-round without booking, but only 9:00–15:20 from October to February, and closed Mondays. Or Nara: ¥760 on Kintetsu from Kyoto, ¥520 more for a limited express seat.

Afternoon

Back to Kyoto Station and out — 29 minutes and ¥580 to Osaka on the Special Rapid, or the Shinkansen from Kyoto for Tokyo.

Trap The Ginkaku-ji English page still shows the old ¥500 admission; the temple's Japanese page carries the current ¥1,000. Budget the new number and treat any guide quoting ¥500 as out of date — including, until this page, ours.