Train Travel

Frequent Shinkansen trains run between Tokyo and Kyoto, taking 2 hours and 40 minutes. The one-way reserved fare is ¥13,220. JR train service between Osaka and Kyoto costs ¥540 and takes 30 minutes; trains connecting with Shin-Osaka take 15 minutes and cost ¥1,380. Keihan and Hankyu lines express trains take 40 minutes and cost between ¥390 and ¥460. They depart every 15 minutes from Osaka's Yodoyabashi and Umeda stations.

For travel to Kyoto's northern reaches, change from the Keihan subway line to the Eizan Railway by transferring at Imadegawa-dori/Demachi-Yanagi Station. The Eizan has two lines, the Kurama Line, running north to Kurama, and the Eizan Line, running northeast to Yase. The Hankyu Line, which runs west as far as Katsura Rikyu, connects with the subway at Karasuma Station. From Shijo-Omiya Station the Keifuku Arashiyama Line runs to western Kyoto. JR also runs to western Kyoto on the San-in Main Line.