3 Days in Kyoto - JR pass worth it? And food questions.
 

I will be flying into KIX on day 1 am and leaving out of it on day 3 noon. However, I am staying at the Hoshinoya in Kyoto. In terms of transportation, is getting a train pass for KIX-Kyoto worth it? Also, for getting around Kyoto, since Hoshinoya is all the way west (by the bamboo forest) and I plan on visiting touristy sites (east of downtown), is my best method of getting around in a timely manner via taxi? Some taxi estimators online show ~Y2000 for getting from the hotel to the golden pavilion - realistically, is that about how much it generally costs?

Any experience on transportation will be much appreciated.

Also, how do you know what places are restaurants? I am looking for hole-in-wall izakaya and/or sushi places, but from what I've seen online, a lot of Japanese food places are very incognito, and since I don't read Japanese, there's no way for me to tell except to peek in every door I walk past.

You might want to look into the ICOCA+Haruka combo cash card/train fare promo on the JRWest website. Approx(?) 40,000 yen for a RT on the express train from KIX to Kyoto Station plus a preloaded card (don't recall the amount) that works in places like 7-11, etc. Been there, done that.

40,000 yen??? Like $400USD for two train rides?

That's the "Approx(?)" price. The actual price is on the website:

http://www.westjr.co.jp/global/en/tr.../icoca-haruka/

Literally!

No, Not 40,000!!!
 

My Bad! :mad::mad::mad: About an hour later I realized that I should have entered 4,000 yen ... roughly $40 US. It was just last week, maybe still a tad jet-lagged.

The full JR Pass is definitely not worth it, since the conventional wisdom is that it is worth getting only if you make the equivalent of a roundtrip between Tokyo and Kyoto. Since you are staying in just one area for a short time, you will be able to get by with the Haruka plus ICOCA card.

However, if you really are staying within or near the city limits of Kyoto for such a short time, it may be possible to meet your sightseeing needs with the Haruka plus single tickets or the Haruka plus a bus card.

(I don't know. Does the ICOCA include the city bus system?)

In the old days, I would have recommended the Kansai area Pass but for your stay, the above-mentioned ICOCA + Hauka round trip package may be the best bet.

Yes, the ICOCA is good for the Kyoto subway and bus.

http://www.westjr.co.jp/global/en/tr.../icoca-haruka/

The local buses do not accept ICOCA, so you need to pay cash. For travelling on Kyoto buses, if you foresee taking 3 or more bus rides in a single day, then get the 1 day bus pass which costs 500Yen.

ICOCA (and other stored value cards like Suica etc) are accepted on subways though.

Thank you all for the help so far. I'll definitely need a pass for KIX-Kyoto-KIX. I feel like if I need to take more than 3 different buses I'll just call a cab. Since most tourist sights are relatively close to each other, cabs won't be too much. Are they hard to find?

Not sure if you misunderstood me, I meant take 3 rides to visit different areas, not to take 3 rides to visit 1 single location.

One example would be in the Northwest region where you might go to Daitokuji then to Kinkakuji finally to Ryoanji. This would constitute 3 bus rides. Am not sure what is your threshold for "too much" for a cab ride, but I do find cabs somewhat expensive in Japan in general.

Btw, there is also a subway+bus day pass which you can consider as well, however, the subway network is somewhat limited, so the bus is more value for money.

Not at all. They are virtually everywhere.

I generally get the combination bus and subway prepaid card and use the extensive bus system but I do switch to cabs when time is short. For a quick visit, you can cover a lot more ground moving around the city like many Japanese tourists, by cab. You can make it a bit easier on yourself and the driver by having a brochure or card from your hotel to show him when you want to return. Drivers are courteous, honest and usually knowledgeable about the main tourist sites around the city. No tipping.

Kyoto city buses will start accepting IC cards for payment sometime this year, according to some online discussions. Seems awfully late.

I understood you. I also found on Google Maps that getting from Hoshinoya Kyoto to those tourist sights requires 2-3 bus segments. So I unconsciously merged the two pieces of information together. What I really meant was if I had to take three buses, which would be the case for quite a few tourist sights from Hoshinoya, I might as well call a cab.

Anyway, there's no easy way from west to east according to Google Maps, so

Awesome, thank you. There are a bunch of institutions in China that accept cards, but not foreign cards. Do most Japanese cabs accept US credit cards? If not, what are some common yen denominations I should carry?