Kyoto and Nara day tours compared by start city and stops

The short answer

Choose by where you start and how many places you want in one day. Two decisions settle most of it: whether the outing begins at Kyoto Station or in Osaka, and whether Nara is part of the day. Ten products on SkyGate are compared here; the last three are Arashiyama outings rather than temple tours.

• From Kyoto, Kyoto only: Nijo Castle, Kinkaku-ji Temple and Imperial Palace Tour from Kyoto (morning) or Kyoto Full-Day Tour: Nijo Castle, Kinkaku-ji, Fushimi Inari Taisha, Kiyomizu-dera Temple .
• From Kyoto, with Nara: Nara Tour from Kyoto (Nara alone, afternoon) or Kyoto and Nara Full-Day Tour from Kyoto .
• From Osaka: Kyoto Tour from Osaka , Kyoto and Nara Tour from Osaka , or Kyoto and Nara Full-Day Tour from Osaka: Kiyomizudera Area, Fushimi Inari Taisha, Nara Park .
• In Arashiyama: Sagano Bamboo Grove and Arashiyama Half-Day Walking Tour , Sagano Romantic Train Ticket or Kyoto Arashiyama Onsen Fufu-no-Yu Ticket .

A named stop is a place the itinerary goes, not proof that entry is included. Where that matters, each section says what SkyGate's listing states.

Starting from Kyoto: Kyoto only

Nijo Castle, Kinkaku-ji Temple and Imperial Palace Tour from Kyoto is the short one. SkyGate's itinerary starts at 8:20 AM at the Sunrise Tours Desk in Kyoto Avanti B1F, across from the Kyoto Station Hachijo Exit, and ends back there at 12:20 PM. The stops are Nijo Castle, Kinkaku-ji and the Kyoto Imperial Palace, and the option describes a half-day morning tour with an English-speaking guide, admission fees and two-way transfer.[1] It has a single option. The option says admission fees are included but does not name the sites.[1] See the Nijo Castle, Kinkaku-ji and Kyoto Imperial Palace pages on XTOUR for the places.

Kyoto Full-Day Tour: Nijo Castle, Kinkaku-ji, Fushimi Inari Taisha, Kiyomizu-dera Temple is the same three morning stops plus Fushimi Inari Taisha, Sanjusangen-do and Kiyomizu-dera in the afternoon. SkyGate's itinerary runs from 8:20 AM to 5:30 PM, and its option lists a duration of 9 hours 30 minutes. Both options include admission fees and an English-speaking guide; one adds lunch. The itinerary has a lunch line, but only the with-lunch option lists lunch in its inclusions, so read the option you pick. The listing does not recommend the tour for guests with heart problems or other serious medical conditions.[2] Fushimi Inari Taisha is a stroll and the temples are visits; the listing does not say what each entry costs or which sites are entered.

Compared with the half-day, the full day adds three stops, and SkyGate's option durations are 4 hours and 9 hours 30 minutes.[1] XTOUR's reading: the half-day suits a morning slot with the afternoon free, and the full day suits one day set aside for Kyoto.

Starting from Kyoto: adding Nara

Nara Tour from Kyoto is Nara only and an afternoon start. SkyGate's itinerary checks in at 1:20 PM at the same Avanti desk and ends with a drop-off at Kyoto Station at 6:20 PM; the option lists a duration of 5 hours 10 minutes. The stops are Kasuga Taisha, where the itinerary says you access the Main Sanctuary special visit area, then Nara Park, then Todai-ji. SkyGate's description adds wild deer at Nara Park. The option includes shared transfers, an English-speaking guide and admission fees, without naming which sites.[3] It has one option.

Kyoto and Nara Full-Day Tour from Kyoto does both in one day, with a check-in of 8:30 AM and an end at 6:30 PM. The morning is Nijo Castle, Kinkaku-ji and the Kyoto Imperial Palace, then it travels to Nara for Kasuga Taisha and the Great Buddha at Todai-ji.[4] Nara Park is not a named stop in this itinerary. The price includes admission and a tour guide, and there are two options, with lunch and without. SkyGate's option duration is 10 hours.[4]

The trade is plain: Nara Tour from Kyoto gives Nara Park and a Kasuga Taisha special-area visit in the afternoon, while Kyoto and Nara Full-Day Tour from Kyoto gives up Nara Park and adds the three Kyoto sites of the half-day tour. XTOUR's reading: pick the Nara-only tour if Nara is the goal and the Kyoto temples are covered elsewhere; pick the combined day if you have one day for both and accept a longer schedule.

Starting from Osaka

All three Osaka products use different meeting arrangements, so read them before comparing the stops.

Kyoto Tour from Osaka is a Kyoto-only day. SkyGate's itinerary meets at 7:15 AM at Hotel Granvia Osaka 1F in front of the elevator, travels to Kyoto Station by JR train, and joins the Sunrise Tours desk in Avanti. The Kyoto stops match the Kyoto full-day product: Nijo Castle, Kinkaku-ji, the Kyoto Imperial Palace, Fushimi Inari Taisha, Sanjusangen-do and Kiyomizu-dera, with the tour ending at JR Osaka Station at 6:15 PM. The options list 11 hours 5 minutes, a round-trip JR train ticket, an English-speaking guide and admission fees; one adds lunch. SkyGate warns that depending on the number of participants the tour uses a JR train or a bus between Osaka and Kyoto, that JR seats are non-reserved and not guaranteed, and that the order of stops may vary. Its page also asks for conservative dress: shoulders, knees and ankles covered for women, and no shorts for men.[5]

Kyoto and Nara Tour from Osaka trades the Kyoto afternoon for Nara. It has the same 7:15 AM Granvia start and the morning stops Nijo Castle, Kinkaku-ji and the Kyoto Imperial Palace, then Kasuga Taisha and the Great Buddha at Todai-ji. The listing's description also names Nara Nagomikan, and the itinerary returns from Nara Nagomikan by train to Osaka Namba Station, ending at 6:10 PM. The options list 11 hours 30 minutes, a round-trip JR train ticket, an English-speaking guide and admission fees, with lunch in one option. The option text also says transfers are available from Granvia Osaka, Hilton Osaka or Swissotel Nankai Osaka, while the itinerary names only the Granvia, so confirm your meeting point with the seller.[6]

Kyoto and Nara Full-Day Tour from Osaka: Kiyomizudera Area, Fushimi Inari Taisha, Nara Park is a different kind of day. Its price includes a tour guide and a sightseeing bus tour and excludes admission, and the option says temple admission is not included and can be purchased onsite. The itinerary meets at 8:40 AM at Nipponbashi Station Exit 2, then at 10:00 AM you explore the Kiyomizudera area at your own pace, with a suggested itinerary that is at your own expense. After Fushimi Inari Taisha at 1:00 PM it reaches Nara Park at 3:30 PM for the deer and Todai-ji, and ends at 6:00 PM in the Shinsaibashi area. The option lists 9 hours 20 minutes and guides in English, Mandarin, Korean or Japanese, and it gives the meeting arrangement as "Hotel name and time", which differs from the itinerary, so check it with the seller. SkyGate's listing does not recommend the tour for pregnant women or for people with heart disease or a fear of heights, requires seniors 70 and above to present a GP fitness certificate, and says children 18 and under must be accompanied by a paying adult.[7]

How the three differ, per SkyGate: the first two are guided days whose options list admission fees without naming sites, the first Kyoto-only and the second Kyoto plus Nara; the third is a bus-and-guide day where the temple visits are your choice and your cost.[5]

If your day is Arashiyama

These three are not Kyoto-and-Nara tours, but they compete for the same free day.

Sagano Bamboo Grove and Arashiyama Half-Day Walking Tour meets at 8:30 AM at the Avanti desk and ends at Kyoto Station at 1:30 PM. It rides a train to Saga-Arashiyama Station, then visits Jojakko-ji, the Sagano Bamboo Grove, Tenryu-ji and Togetsukyo Bridge, and boards a yakatabune boat. The option includes an English-speaking guide, train passes, admission fees and the boat ride, and lists 5 hours.[8] See the Tenryu-ji and Arashiyama Bamboo Grove pages on XTOUR.

Sagano Romantic Train Ticket is only the train: SkyGate's two options are one-way tickets with a reserved seat, Sagano to Kameoka or Kameoka to Sagano, and neither is a return ticket.[9] The operator says the ride takes approximately 25 minutes over about 7 km.[13] The Sagano option says to make your own way to Saga Arashiyama Station on the JR Sanin Main Line; the Kameoka option says to get off at Umahori Station.[9] The operator publishes the timetable and seat availability on its schedule page, and SkyGate points to the operator's site for suspension dates.[14] SkyGate says food and drink other than drinking water are not allowed on board and asks you to show the original e-voucher on your phone, not a screenshot.[9]

Kyoto Arashiyama Onsen Fufu-no-Yu Ticket is the bath option. SkyGate lists indoor and open-air hot spring baths, a charcoal sauna, a steam sauna and a cold bath, with eight options: weekday or weekend, with or without towel rental, plus preschooler versions for ages 0 to 2 that are booked alongside an adult. SkyGate says last admission is 30 minutes before closing, and that you may be refused entry with certain medical conditions, after alcohol, or with tattoos or tattoo-covering stickers the operator does not permit.[10] The operator's page showed only a maintenance notice when XTOUR checked, so its hours and rules are unknown here. See the Kyoto Arashiyama Onsen Fufu-no-Yu page on XTOUR.

How to choose

• You are staying in Kyoto and want temples only: the half-day for a morning, or the full-day if you want Fushimi Inari Taisha, Sanjusangen-do and Kiyomizu-dera too.
• You want Nara from Kyoto: the afternoon Nara tour for Nara Park, or the full-day for a Kyoto morning plus Todai-ji and Kasuga Taisha.
• You are staying in Osaka and want the option to list admission fees: Kyoto Tour from Osaka or Kyoto and Nara Tour from Osaka , per SkyGate.[5]
• You are staying in Osaka and want free time in the Kiyomizudera area and Nara Park: the Kiyomizudera, Fushimi Inari Taisha and Nara Park tour, which SkyGate says excludes admission.[7]
• You want a lighter Arashiyama day: the walking tour if you want a guide, the train ticket if you only want the ride, the onsen ticket if you want to bathe.

Before you book

• SkyGate's Kyoto-based itineraries name Ryoan-ji as the substitute when Nijo Castle is closed and Kitano Tenmangu Shrine when the Kyoto Imperial Palace is closed.[1]
• The operator's Japanese site says Nijo Castle opens 8:45 to 16:00, and that Ninomaru Palace viewing is suspended on Tuesdays in January, July, August and December; SkyGate's itineraries describe the castle itself as closed on those Tuesdays.[11]
• The Imperial Household Agency gives the Kyoto Imperial Palace's closing days as Mondays, with a Tuesday closure when Monday is a national holiday, and 28 December to 4 January; SkyGate's wording lists public holidays as closures, so which applies on your date is not settled here.[12]
• SkyGate's listings say itineraries are subject to change with weather, events or traffic.[4]
• For the Kyoto-based tours, SkyGate's itineraries ask you to make your own way to the Sunrise Tours Desk at Kyoto Avanti, across from the Kyoto Station Hachijo Exit.[1]