Kyoto Sky Bus – Sightseeing Bus Tour of Kyoto

In the autumn of 2015 the Keihan and Myojo Bus Companies introduced an open top, double decker touring service called the Kyoto Sky Bus. This Sky Bus tour of Kyoto provides an excellent introduction to the city, and is also an enjoyable way to learn a little about Kyoto’s history and culture from an unusual vantage point.

Sky Bus Kyoto routes are seasonal. The main open-top “Drive Around” service is a sightseeing loop from Kyoto Station with no temple admission stops, while special event routes run on selected dates. The four-hour route shown in some of the photographs below, which stopped at Kinkakuji Temple and Kiyomizudera Temple, is useful as a look at the Sky Bus experience, but it is not the standard Sky Bus route listed for booking. Always check the official booking calendar before planning around a particular course.

Boarding at Kyoto Station

The Sky Bus tour begins at the JR Kyoto Station Karasuma Exit Kyoto Sightseeing “OKOSHI” Bus Terminal. From the JR Central Exit, turn left toward Kyoto Tower. The boarding area and ticket counter are in the plaza by the first floor entrance of the Isetan department store, with Kyoto Central Post Office across the street as a useful landmark. If you are arriving by subway, use Kyoto Station Exit 6.

All Sky Bus seats are reserved. If you book online, you will receive a mobile or paper voucher, but you cannot board with that voucher alone. You need to exchange it at the OKOSHI Bus counter for a reserved-seat ticket before departure. Seat numbers are assigned when that ticket is issued, so passengers cannot choose their own seats. However, all passenger seats are on the open-air upper deck, so every seat gives you the full Sky Bus view.

Some Sky Bus and OKOSHI Bus courses provide GPS audio guidance in English, Chinese, and Korean. Other seasonal Sky Bus routes may not have multilingual audio guidance, so check the course notes before booking. When an audio guide is provided, you will receive earphones on board and should return the device at the end of the tour.

The Sky Bus Drive Around Tour

The regular Sky Bus Kyoto Drive Around course is a compact open-top ride of about one hour. On operating days, departures may be listed at 9:30, 11:30, 14:00, and 16:00, but the operating calendar changes by season, so confirm the date and departure time before you go.

The Drive Around route is designed for sightseeing from the bus rather than visits inside temples or shrines. It may pass locations such as Nishi Honganji Temple, Nijo-jo Castle, Kyoto Gyoen National Garden, Kamo Ohashi Bridge, the Lake Biwa Canal, Heian-jingu Shrine’s giant torii gate, Shoren-in Temple, Chion-in Temple’s Sanmon gate, Yasaka-jinja Shrine, Kyoto Minamiza Theater, and Kyoto Tower. Some departures also allow passengers to get off at the Gion bus stop.

The guide is full of interesting information, not only about the sites you are passing, but also more general information about Kyoto’s history, geography, culture and climate. If you listen carefully, then by the time the tour has finished you’ll be quite the expert on all things Kyoto: whether it be the local dialect, Kyoto festivals, or the traditions of Kyoto’s geisha.

A Look Back at the Earlier Temple Route

The photographs below show an earlier four-hour Sky Bus course that stopped at Kinkakuji Temple and Kiyomizudera Temple. That course was a fuller sightseeing circuit and gave passengers a good sense of how much variety there is in Kyoto’s cityscape. It should be treated as a past route example rather than a booking guide for the Sky Bus services listed on the official calendar.

Heading north from Kyoto Station, that route passed famous locations like Nishi Honganji Temple, Nijo-jo Castle and Kitano-Tenmangu Shrine before making a first stop at Kinkakuji Temple.

Because the bus only made a small number of stops, it was useful to make a note of locations that looked interesting along the way, in case you wanted to visit them properly yourself later. The arcane pentacle at Seimei-jinja certainly excited my curiosity!

In terms of scenery, the initial part of the tour between Kyoto Station and Kinkakuji Temple was the least satisfactory part of the route. Though there were many sites of interest along the way, this part of the city has not been well preserved, and the rather drab urban landscape could disappoint you. Don’t be too discouraged though, because after Kinkakuji Temple, the route travelled east, crossed the Kamogawa river and entered Kyoto’s best preserved and most beautiful scenic areas.

If you take an open-top tour in early spring, you may even be rewarded by a glorious view of the cherry trees in Higashiyama!

At Kinkakuji, the earlier route stopped for 40 minutes and the guide led the tour group to the gates of the temple.

Kinkakuji Temple is the site of the famous Golden Pavilion, and so it is a super popular location, and almost always crowded. However, 40 minutes was enough time for a circuit of the grounds and plenty of memorable pictures.

Following the visit to Kinkakuji Temple the route cut east across the city, past the Imperial Palace Park, and crossed over the Kamogamo Delta at a point where two rivers meet. In terms of natural scenery the view here of the two rivers, the mountains beyond them and the sky overhead is one of the best in Kyoto.

The bus then continued on to the scenic Higashiyama district, crossing over and running alongside the canal and its cherry trees and passing Heian-jingu Shrine.

Going south you passed too many ancient shrines and temples to mention, but one stand out location was Chion-in Temple. The massive Sanmon gate is the largest gate of its kind in Japan.

The bus then entered the Gion district, passing by the famous Yasaka-jinja Shrine, which sits at the hub of many of Kyoto’s seasonal festivals.

The earlier route then ran along the Kamogawa river for a stretch before driving up into the eastern mountains and making a stop at Kiyomizudera Temple. This was a very good jumping off point for exploring southern Higashiyama and the Gion district before strolling back into the center of town.

Kiyomizudera Temple is such a beautiful and extensive complex of temple buildings that it is well worth making time to explore it properly. The spectacular sight of the “butai” or stage of Kiyomizu, and of the city beyond it, is one of the must see views of Kyoto and it really would be a shame to miss it.

If you want a guided bus route that visits Kinkakuji Temple and Kiyomizudera Temple, look at the regular OKOSHI Bus temple courses rather than the Sky Bus listings. The AW course visits Kinkaku-ji, Ginkaku-ji, and Kiyomizu-dera, takes about 5.5 hours, departs at 10:00, and includes admission to all three temples. This is a regular sightseeing bus course, not the open-top Sky Bus route shown in the photographs above.

Ticket Reservations & Other Details

Tour details and pricing are subject to change, but the standard Sky Bus Kyoto Drive Around course is usually listed at 2,300 yen for adults and 1,150 yen for children. Seasonal open-top routes have their own prices and operating dates. For example, late-September open-top drive courses have been listed at 2,200 yen for adults and 1,100 yen for children, while a Gion Festival Sky Bus route has been listed at 3,200 yen for adults and 1,600 yen for children.

You can book through the official online booking system, which is available in Japanese, English, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, and Korean. You can also make inquiries by phone at 075-672-2100 (open: 8:00-20:00). If you wish to buy or exchange tickets in person, go to the OKOSHI Bus ticket counter at the Kyoto Station Karasuma Exit bus terminal, directly in front of Isetan department store on the north side of Kyoto Station. Same day bookings may be possible when seats remain, but the Sky Bus has limited seating, so advance booking is a good idea.

Online booking deadlines and booking windows vary by course. Sky Bus pages commonly require booking by 23:00 on the day before travel and accept bookings within a set advance window, so check the conditions shown on the course page. If you have a mobile or paper voucher, exchange it for a reserved-seat ticket at least 20 minutes before departure. The bus will leave on time, and you cannot join the tour midway if you miss it.

One final piece of advice is about clothing! All passenger seats are on the open-air upper deck, so unless it is high summer, it can get very breezy at the top of the bus. You may want to bring a jacket to keep yourself warm. If it rains, the staff on the bus will distribute raincoats, but umbrellas and parasols are not allowed because they obstruct other passengers’ views and can be dangerous on an open-top bus. Passengers are also asked not to move seats while the bus is in motion, not to stand up, not to touch branches that enter through the roof opening, and not to use selfie sticks. Pets are not allowed, and eating, drinking alcohol, and smoking are prohibited, though drinks with lids are allowed. Service may be suspended or canceled when wind, rain, or other conditions make safe operation difficult.

Article and original photos by Michael Lambe. All rights reserved. Last updated 03-Jul-2026.