JR Pass in Kyoto

Hi there,

Good news! You can use the JR Pass to get to all of those destinations. Note that to get to the Ryoanji, you'll need to take a JR bus rather than a train. There is no nearby JR Station to the Philosopher's Path, near Ginkanku-ji temple. Using the Kyoto metro, the best station to get out at is called Keage station, on the Tozai line. Alternatively, bus lines Bus 17, 201, 202, 205, 206 run from Kyoto stations to Keage station in about 30 minutes. These are unfortunately not covered by the JR Pass, but compared to train travel this trip from central Kyoto will be relatively cheap.

The JR Pass will cover travel between Kobe and Himeji as well.

For Tokyo, the JR Pass will cover the main central Metro line, the JR Yamanote Loop line. This will get you to the main attractions in central Tokyo, but should you wish to use the other lines I'd recommend purchasing a prepaid travel card such as a SUICA or PASMO. This will also work on the Kyoto Subway/Bus system if you plan on getting to the Philosopher's Path via public transit.

Hope this helps!

Alexis

Hi Alexis, yes this helps a lot. Calculating the individual train tickets and adding the day subway/bus pass in the cities I am visiting. Seems because of the price increase of the JR pass, it may be cheaper to purchase the tickets individually. I am traveling from Aug 17 to September 2, I read seats on the trains should not be hard to get at that time.
As you can see, I keep going back and forth if the JR pass is cost effective for me or not.
Thanks