Kyoto 1-Day Bus Pass

Kyoto does not offer any 1-day or 2-day pass for all transports like Osaka, however, it does offer a 1-day bus pass. The cost is 500 yen, free for all Kyoto buses, but not valid for subways.

This 1-day is good value for money if you make 3 or more bus rides. The bus fare in Kyoto is skyhigh, 220 yen for adult and 110 yen for children as long as you board any bus, regardless of travel distance. It will cost you a lot if you make a few bus trips.

The Kyoto bus network is efficient and buses will bring you to all the major tourist attractions. You can get the 1-day pass at the bus terminal or any bus that you board. Ask the bus driver. And get yourself equipped with a Kyoto bus map. It will prove very useful. I am not very sure about the English-speaking only tourists, for me, I grapped the bus map in Japanese. The Japanese bus map is more useful. You can point at the place you want to go and ask questions to the locals or the bus driver. If you use a Japanese map, they may not be able to understand what your question is. And of course, the bus map is full of Chinese characters, many have the exact meaning as they are known in Chinese.

Plan your trip carefully in Kyoto though. Buses can be very crowded during rush hours, or when students go to school and come back from school.

Btw, this Kyoto 1-day pass used to cost 700 yen back in 2001 (?), thanks to long-lasting deflation in Japan, now it is only 500 yen :D