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Hotel Class: 
3 Stars - 21 Opinions
17 Saiinsanzocho, Ukyo-ku, Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture, 615-0021, Japan
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of people enjoy staying here
21 Opinions
Foliage at Ryoanji
Shosei-en
Food stalls
Jingoji Temple Guardian
Im visiting Kyoto next week and I want to go there as soon as my plane lands at Tokyo. I´ll arrive Tokyo near 3pm. Do you think I can get the JR train to go to Kyoto right away?
In Kyoto I have to get to the hostel by bus. Do you know the buses schedules? I am suppose to take the bus 100 or 206 to Gion station, but Im afraid if I get there too late I won´t be able to (and I´ll have to take a taxi instead).
Thank you for your help!
I would suggest you check the following website. It gives you all of the JR rail times / schedules.
http://www.hyperdia.com/en/
I would expect that you should plan on 1 - 2 hours after your plan lands to get through customs and immigration, pick up your luggage and get to the airport train station. You are looking at about a 45 minute train ride to Tokyo for a connection to a Shinkansen (Bullet train) to Kyoto, so you are really looking at somewhere in the 3 to 4 hour range to get from the airport to the train station in Kyoto, depending on your connections. That means you are probably going to arrive in Kyoto in the 20:00 - 21:00 time frame, which is not all that late.
We didn't use the bus a lot in Kyoto. The ryokan we were staying at was close to the subway station, so we used it a lot, but try the following website:
http://www.city.kyoto.jp/koho/eng/access/transport.html
I hope you enjoy Kyoto as much as we did!
As the others mentioned. traveling in Kyoto needs a lot of walking. I can tell you that the map will be deceptive. and generally, map in Kyoto is not draw to scale and not oriented north/south and also didn't show the orientation at all. BEWARE! Kinkakuji, the moss hill in Ginkakuji, the sakura tunnel along the philosophy path
Dress for the seasons.
In winter, bring those duck-down jackets and scarfs, and gloves. It gets cold!!
In summer, bring singlet tops and jeans/shorts/cargos/skirts.
In Spring & Autumn, bring what you'd wear in summer but also a cardigan or light jacket/jearsey.
Always bring a small fold-up umbrella in your bag. It pours with rain with no warning some days!
Or else, you'll just find yourself buying one from the convienence stores anyway on a rainy day. Ahhh! In summertime, the mosquitos bite and bite!
Bring mosquito repellent so that you won't be itchy for the whole trip! My friend from Korea visited us, and on her first night here, got bitten 10 times! And once on her eyelid! wow, now those are some hungry mosquitos!
There are a couple of ways to go to Kyoto from KIX. There's the Limousine Bus, the taxi and our recommended choice --- Haruka airport express which is 75 mins and costs normally at 2980 for unreserved seats. Limousine Bus is cheaper at 2300 yen but time is longer, around 2 hours. However, you can actually purchase a one-day Kansai Area Pass by JR-West and you can use this for the Haruka airport express and guess how much it costs? 2000! So overall speaking, this is the best deal because it's not only cheaper, it's also the fastest! You can get the ticket from the station itself which is right outside the arrival section of domestic flights. Earliest departure from KIX is 6:29 am and latest is at 10:18 pm.
Before starting on the train for daytrips or just going around, stop for a hearty breakfast at this little cosy cafe. It's located inside the Shinkansen station in Kyoto.
There is a food display outside the cafe that you can point out to your waiter and tell him what you want. Everything comes in a set that you can share and try a bit of everything.
It's specialty is porridge and noodles set that costs US$6-7. Love th steaming hot porridge with fish and condiments. On a cold autumn or winter day, it's the perfect start to a day.
When most people think of Japanese castles, they picture the large majestic buildings, like Himeji Castle. Nijo Castle was built with the Shoin-zukuri architectural style, so it does not look like a typical Japanese castle however, do not let this deter you from going. Nijo Castle is well worth the visit!
It is probably more appropriate to refer to Nijo Castle as an Imperial Palace, similar to the imperial villas, because the residents were indeed the Imperial Cabinet. The main section, the Ninomaru Palace, was commissioned by Tokugawa Ieyasu to be built in 1601 and was completed in 1603. The palace you see today is this very same palace; it was never burned down or reconstructed, so the building, as well as the beautiful paintings inside are all originals. The Nightingale floors have also been preserved, so as you walk in the palace, you will noticed the floorboards squeaking. These were used to indicate to those inside that someone was intruding, so outsiders could not easily launch a surprise attack or spy.
The Ninomaru Garden is also quite beautiful, and it dates back to 1626, so it was part of the original palace.
The Honmaru Palace was brought from Katsura Imperial Villa from 1893-1894 and dates back to 1847. The Seiryu-en Garden was built quite recently, in 1965, so it was not part of the original castle however, don't be too disappointed, because the Ninomaru Garden is both more beautiful and the original palace garden!
Nijo Castle is a beautiful historic site with great examples of original Japanese architecture, artwork, and gardens. It was designated as one of Kyoto's World Heritage Sites in 1994, an honor it certainly deserves!
The entrance fee is 600 yen.
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Q: Any suggestion for the hotels in Kyoto Centre which less than 10 min walk to JR Kyoto station? "Hi there, I’d try online booking for Shimizu Ryokan near the JR Kyoto station for dates: 8, 9 & 10 Jun. But it's fully book...."
A: "I stayed at the RIHGA Royal Hotel Kyoto which is about a 10 min walk from the station (I walked directly form there) and was quite happy with commodities and price."
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Address: 17 Saiinsanzocho, Ukyo-ku, Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture, 615-0021, Japan
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