Kyoto's Public Transport Options for First-Time Travelers

when visiting a new city navigating its public transport systems can be quite intimidating each city has its own unique quirks and you never really know what to expect I would always imagine myself exiting a bus and try to pay the bus fare one ticket please the driver who does not speak English gives me the No-No look not knowing how to proceed a little part of me dies inside that's particularly true when it comes to Japan the multitude of travel options and their subtle distinctions can be overwhelming especially for first-time Travelers you've got your Jr trains private rails Subways run by the city Subways run by the Jr company buses run by the city buses run by the city but not really buses run by the Jr company buses run by private rail companies and special sightseeing buses if Transportation operates slightly differently from the others and to add to the confusion there are numerous commuter passes to choose from it's a major head scratcher however during my recent visit to Kyoto I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the public transport system was remarkably easy to understand and use as a result I would like to create a video guide to help you navigate Kyoto's Transportation options I will omit information that is unlikely to be relevant to 99 of you out there and focus only on the best and most essential ways of travel in the city so you could start exploring the beauty of Kyoto the moment this video ends so here we are ladies and gentlemen this is a foolproof guide to Kyoto's public transport as a first-time Traveler Kyoto's public transport system is relatively straightforward as the locals would tell you it primarily consists of two Subway Lines and a comprehensive network of city buses the recommended strategy for traveling from point A to point B when there is no direct Transportation available is to utilize the subway for quick coverage of the initial distance and then rely on buses to complete the remaining journey by following this approach you can conveniently access over 90 percent of the city's popular tourist destinations therefore if you are planning a trip to Kyoto do consider finding your accommodation near a subway station it's going to make getting around the city so much easier [Music] the remaining 10 of destinations in Kyoto may require alternative modes of transportation such as the Jr train and private Railways however it's important to note that a you don't have to take them very often and B they are still relatively easy to navigate so even though I won't delve too deep into that I will still provide necessary info I've got you covered to get to places we need tickets but buying tickets for each individual ride can be both time consuming and hard to do right for a first-time Traveler luckily there is one solution to all of your problems let me introduce the essential the echoca card when it comes to transportation in Kyoto the akoka card is an absolute must-have this prepaid IC card is incredibly versatile can be used for absolutely everything that runs on wheels and transport lots of people this includes Subway Lines buses Jr trains private Railways and more throughout the Kansai area it's your free out of jail card for any potentially awkward transportational situations and it saves you the head scratching process of fair calculations you'll be delighted to know that obtaining your own ecoka card is incredibly simple the card can be easily obtained at most if not all J.R West and subway stations through their ticket offices and ticket machines it's important to know that the ticket machines you would see might not look exactly like the ones I'm showing here since there are so confusingly many different models of them at different stations but if you see any coca card icon above the machine or it says card somewhere on that machine or if you could see a huge button for the ikoka on the first screen chances are this machine will sell you coca cards however if a machine with an echoca icon only says IC charge or card charge instead of just card it's likely that this machine will only good for topping up your ecoca card you'll have to find another one when purchasing the card please note that it requires a one-time cash payment of 2000 Yen out of this amount 500 serves as a refundable deposit while the remaining 1500 can be immediately used as credit for transportation the card can be conveniently topped up at any time using ticket machines and offices now while the echoca card is incredibly convenient it does have one limitation it does not offer any discounts however to become a pro traveler you must be a smart traveler so without further Ado it's time to introduce the MVP the Kyoto bus and Subway one day pass in Kyoto this pass stands out as the ultimate deal especially since the city will discontinue the one-day bus pass due to over tourism starting September 2023 fortunately the bus and subway pass remains as an amazing option and you wouldn't want to limit yourself to buses alone anyway it offers unlimited rides on the subway and most buses in the city on day of use for as low as 1100 Yen for adults and 550 Yen for children if 1 100 yen doesn't look like a great deal to you consider that the minimum cost for a single bus or subway ride in Kyoto is around 220 to 230 Yen with just four to five short rides or two to three longer rides which is highly likely during a Leisure trip in the city anyways you'll easily get your money's worth this pass offers even better value and greater convenience than the akoka card details on that in a bit the good news is that the Kyoto city is actively promoting the pass so you can get it pretty much anywhere in my experience the best way to obtain one is at any subway station in the city which you are likely to visit during your stay there are at least three to four different locations within a subway station where the pass is sold making it hard to miss to me a lesser-known but incredibly convenient place to purchase the pass is at the ticket gate on the sides of the turnstiles you'll often find a counter with Subway staff stationed inside they will sell the pass simply approach the window politely do your usual and ask if the pass is available they will be more than happy to assist you make sure you have 1100 Yen cash on hand as cards aren't accepted here to make your life even easier here's something you can show directly to the staff I've even prepared for you you'll thank me later [Music] there are other locations where you can acquire the pass as you would expect these include the tourist info centers in subway bus and Jr stations and commuter pass booths found in some subway stations [Music] additionally there are dedicated commuter pass vending machines available at both subway stations and larger bus stations such as Kyoto station that sell the pass take advantage of them if you come across one please note that while there are passes available for purchase directly from bus drivers but the bus and Subway one day pass is not one of them furthermore regular Subway ticket machines do not offer the pass either one important detail to remember is that the pass is valid until 12 o'clock midnight on the day of first use so keep that in mind Cinderella however if you want to be smart you can use this to your advantage for example if you plan to stay in the city for three days you can simply purchase three passes on the first day and use one pass per day during your trip this way you only need to make one purchase and that's cool now that you understand what the akoka card and one day pass are and where to get them it's time to learn how to use them for your trip which is incredibly easy using the echoca card is straightforward when using it for the subway simply touch the card on the gates card reader when entering and exiting the station it works in a similar manner to other Transit cards like the Oyster card or the metro card just tap in and tap out and you're good to go when it comes to buses it can become a bit more intricate in Kyoto buses are operated by several different companies on top of that there are flat fare zones and non-flat fare zones if you try to look into the details it gets confusing really quickly however fret not to use a regular bus you just need to follow a few simple steps first enter the bus through the back door if there is a card reader at the back door touch your ecocca card on the reader before reaching your desired stop ring the bell to notify the driver to stop at the next destination like this when you are ready to disembark touch your ecoco card on the card reader located near the driver and you are free to get off after a beep while these steps apply to the majority of buses in the city it's worth noting that there may be some obscure sightseeing bus routes where these rules don't apply fortunately such routes are unlikely to appear in a regular Google Map search and if you are using them chances are you will get relevant instructions from the service provider so no need to worry that these might catch you by surprise thank you if you indeed purchase the bus and Subway one day pass your journey will become even more convenient when using the pass for the subway you can freely enter and exit from any station without any restrictions instead of touching the card reader simply insert your pass into the ticket slot on the gate if it is your first time using the card a date will be stamped onto it that's when the timer starts ticking the pass remains eligible until 12 o'clock midnight on that same day don't forget to insert the pass into the ticket slot again when exiting the station using the bus with the bus and Subway one day pass is even more convenient than using the ikoka card you only need to show the pass to the driver like you own this place before getting off and that's it however if it's your first time using the pass you will need to insert it into the card slot located near the driver's seat to have the date stamped on the pass once that's done you can simply show the pass to the driver for subsequent bus rides throughout the day [Music] indeed the pass is valid for buses of the four biggest bus operators in the city but apart from the Kyoto city bus there are a few routes from the other three operators where the pass cannot be used while I could simply list the routes you are not allowed to take from the official City website but that will mean nothing to you instead I suggest not caring at all let me explain as I mentioned before the past generally covers most bus routes in the city particularly those at tourist sites so when you go from one place to another in the City by bus chances are it is going to be covered by the pass in the unlikely event that you board a bus that is not covered by the pass there will be an English sticker note on the inside of the bus similar to this telling you that the pass cannot be used there's no need to worry if you see that note quickly enough you can always get off also remember how I referred to the ecoca card as your free out of jail card well when the pass doesn't work you can still use your ecocca card to pay for the fare if you just got on the bus it's not too late to touch your coca card on the card reader by the back door if there is one and then touch again near the driver's seat before you get off hell it's fine even if you didn't notice the bus isn't covered when you're about to disembark and the driver gives you the No-No look upon showing the pass simply touch your ecocca card on the card reader located near the driver's seat the card reader May display an error message indicating that it didn't recognize your boarding point in this case the driver will manually input a special fare for passengers that have an unidentified boarding point in my four-day visit to the city I only encountered one such occasion with a Kahan bus and the eventual fare isn't a lot higher than the usual base fare it's not ideal but you now know that there's a way out for every scenario see I went through all those awkward situations so that you don't have to for those seeking the utmost peace of mind the Kyoto city buses which are distinguished by their green color are all covered for pass holders this means that you can ride any route operated by the Kyoto city bus without any concerns problem is when doing a Google Maps search you don't see a picture of the bus so you really can't tell what I'm saying is that Kyoto is a big place I expect you to become quite familiar with those kanjis as you plan your next move if you go through a list of all the Kyoto city buses routes you'll notice that they have something in common they all start with these two kanjis which means municipal or city operated with that knowledge if we now try a few Google Map searches you'll easily be able to tell which ones are the Kyoto city bus routes not too bad eh now that you've understood the what and the how regarding traveling Kyoto I'd like to end the video with a quick summary first purchase any coca card for 2 000 Yen at Subway Jr stations or the Kansai airport it can be used for nearly any means of Transport in the city but don't use it unless you have to since it does not have any discounts next obtain a 1 100 yen bus and Subway one day pass for each day of your travel from subway stations tourist info centers or commuter pass vending machines the pass offers unlimited rides on all Subway Lines and most bus routes on day of use then combine bus and Subway travel to achieve maximum efficiency use the one day pass as much as possible worry too much about getting on a bus that isn't covered by the pass you can always aim for the green Kyoto city bus that's 100 safe or just use the akoka card to pay the bus fare by following these guidelines you can navigate Kyoto easily and enjoy cost-effective Transportation options throughout your trip okay that's everything for this video I hope the information provided will help you to better plan your trip to Kyoto and if you have any further questions please let me know in the comment section have a fantastic trip [Music]

Channel: Will Zhao

Views: 147,818

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Id: U1RQQbu6zPI

Length: 15min 40sec (940 seconds)

Published: Tue Jul 18 2023