Prince Hotel BlogsJapan is seldom uttered in the same sentence as “cheap”, the country embodying everything from futurism to ancient history. The capital city of Tokyo can be very expensive to enjoy a vacation in if you don’t know how to budget. On the other hand though, returning guests of the Seiryu Kyoto Kiyomizu will probably know that Kyoto is surprisingly easy to enjoy if your purse strings are tight.
Kyoto is a city that has managed to retain its long history. Unlike other cities such as Tokyo, the country’s 20th century devastation never reached the shogun temple laden former capital. You’d expect then, that staying at hotels in Kyoto Japan might be expensive, in the same way as it’s expensive to stay in historically protected cities like Venice. The opposite is true though, and you’ll find plenty of historic sites, entertainment and attractions that are incredibly cheap, if not free to visit.
This blog will explore some of the best ways to visit Kyoto on a budget, providing guests of the Prince Kyoto Takaragaike with some tips on enjoying the city on the cheap.
Kyoto is located in the southern central region of Kansai, of which it’s the capital. Due to its prominence as the former capital city of the nation, Kyoto is easily accessible by road, train and plane. This means that budget tourists have plenty of options when traveling there.
The Japan Rail Pass costs only 29,650 JPY for a 7 day ticket, which comes to about $223 in total. This pass is a great way to save money on rail travel when traveling to and around Kyoto. There are plenty of attractions located outside of the city that make it well worth buying a rail pass. Of course, to get your money’s worth, you’ll want to use rail travel regularly, or otherwise buy a single ticket instead of investing in this handy day, week or month long pass.
Adults can buy a day-long metro pass in Kyoto for 600 yen, which comes to about $4.53. This is especially useful for traveling around the city, which is quite large at 827 square kilometers. Buy your metro pass when you think you’ll be spending a lot of time traveling between different areas, otherwise a single journey ticket on the Metro is only 210 to 350 yen, depending on the distance you’re traveling. By that logic, guests of hotels in Kyoto should be planning to use the day-long metro pass at least 2 or 3 times to get their money’s worth.
It’s worth remembering that the city of Kyoto doesn’t have its own airport. Instead, Osaka International Airport – or Itami Airport – is only 36 kilometers away. If you’re planning to head to Kyoto from the airport, the journey by bus is about 55 minutes. Bus fare is greater value for money than a taxi, but will take about double the time to reach the city center.
As a fairly compact city, you can walk around Kyoto quite easily, especially if visiting a specific district for the day. Do keep in mind that temperatures in the summer can reach 90 degrees F and monsoon season, between early June and mid July, can see a lot of heavy rain.
WHilst some of the more traditional restaurants are expensive to dine at, Kyoto has many tricks up its sleeves for budget travelers. Kaiseki, the complex small dishes that are famous in Kyoto, may be expensive at dinner time, but the lunch menus see a substantial decrease in price. Teishoku set meals are also offered at many Japanese restaurants as well, which are cheaper than standard dining. These usually consist of a main, soup and side dish and are great value for money.
More generally, sushi trains are cheap alternatives to high end sushi restaurants, and meals such as curry, ramen and donburi are often great value and very filling.
Japan is teeming with budget attractions, and whilst some of the most famous temples and shrines will require you to pay to enter or at least to see specific parts of the complexes, others are completely free for you to visit.
Kyoto has a hefty share of botanic and traditional gardens, but Maruyama Park, opened in 1886, is completely free to visit. The oldest park in Kyoto, Maruyama Park is one of the best places to see Japanese cherry blossoms when they bloom between late March and mid-April. Watch out for the crowds during this season though, many people flock to Maruyama to enjoy the stunning sight. If you want to avoid the crowds, there are cafes and serene streams running through Maruyama as well, and the natural beauty changes shape and character with the seasons.
One of the most photographed sights in Kyoto, this Bamboo Grove is open from 8am (when we recommend you to visit to avoid the crowds) daily and is easy to reach from Saga Arashiyama Station. The bamboo stalks canvassing your surroundings are a sight to behold, and are just 20 minutes on the train from central Kyoto.
Located close to Maruyama Park, this free to visit shrine is easy to reach from central Kyoto, as it is situated in the popular Gion District. Founded more than 1350 years ago, the shrine is especially popular in July when it acts as host for the Gion Matsuri Festival, which has been running every year since 869 AD. The festival is famous for its many colorful floats, and acts as a way to appease the gods to avoid their unleashing of plagues upon Japan.
Whilst hotels and flights can inflate during the summer seasons – especially during the Gion Matsuri Festival – they are cheaper when you visit the city off-peak. If you want to avoid both the crowds and the high costs of travel, consider visiting in the low season between mid-December and February. The city is still beautiful at this time as the streets, parks and shrines are all laced with snow.
Japan is seldom uttered in the same sentence as “cheap”, the country embodying everything from futurism to ancient history. The capital city of Tokyo can be very expensive to enjoy a vacation in if you don’t know how to budget. On the other hand though, returning guests of the Seiryu Kyoto Kiyomizu will probably know […]