Local Metro travel in Kyoto
 

I've read that the buses are very crowded in Kyoto, so I would like to take the metro as much as possible. However the only place I see that is near a train station is Nijo castle. Are there any other top sites that we could reach by subway/walking, or are we stuck having to use buses or taxis. Our hotel is on the Gojo line.

I find the easiest way to see this is Google - it shows the stations pretty clearly.

Here's a VERY detailed bus map which may or may not be useful for bus transport in Kyoto: http://www.japonfacile.com/blog/wp-c...to_bus_map.jpg

shelleyk - do you mean the Gojo station on the Karasuma line - see attached map of the Kyoto subway system:
http://www.city.kyoto.jp/koho/eng/access/subway.html
It really depends on your itinerary, of course - you change transfer to the Tozai line to get to the Higashiyama area for one thing.....

You really need a nice map that shows the bus, subway and train routes as there are other railways running through: JR, Hankyu and Randen to mention three - there are more...

The Kyoto City Map that you can obtain at the Tourism Office in the Kyoto station is very good for the train lines and I think they would have the bus map as well.

It really isn't that hard to find your way around either by bus or train as Kyoto is basically a grid system....

You can take the subway to Karasuma-Oike, which gives you access to the Teramachi-dori pedestrian shopping street, Nishiki Market, and the Ponto-cho street -- all interesting stuff. The Keage station (Tozai line) is close to the Nanzenji temple and the southern end of the Philosopher's Path, which in turn leads up to Ginkakuji temple. If you can make your way to a Keihan line train station, then you've got access to Gion and plenty of other places. Also keep in mind that central Kyoto is a much smaller area than central Tokyo, so you won't be paying crazy taxi fares if you take a cab.

Check out www.kyoto.travel (the Kyoto Travel Guide), if you haven't already done so.

Hmmm... I used the metro for everything but Ginkakuji and Kinkakuji, but I did walk a lot!
Fushimi Inari is very close to a train. Parts of Arashiyama are very close to trains. Pontocho is very close to a train....

japan-guide.com has a lot of this information, as does the old, but nonetheless very helpful, Japan Solo.

Just found this map which is actually really helpful as shows both metro and train lines, and I think it's actually in scale...

Thanks for the info and the links. It makes it a little easier to plan our days, although I must admit I am still not 100% sure of where things are in relation to the subway stops. Mara- I did mean the Gojo station on the Karasuma line. Like kja, I think we will be doing a lot of walking, which is fine with us.