Kyoto Sightseeing Hop-On Hop-Off Loop Bus(K'Loop) (京都観光ループバス (K' Loop))
Ajañs-Veaj Attraction Hop On Hop-Off Tour Karasumadori Shiokoji Sagaru Higashishiokojicho, Shimogyo-Ku, Kyoto, Kyoto, 600-8216, Japan
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About Kyoto Sightseeing Hop-On Hop-Off Loop Bus(K'Loop)
Simple route, convenient timetable, perfect for sightseeing in Kyoto! Kyoto's 'hop-on hop-off' bus 'K'LOOP' allows you to freely enjoy world heritage sites and important cultural spots at your own pace. There are three tourist routes. The route goes to Kinkakuji and Nijo Castle, the route goes to Gion / Shijo Kawaramachi, Heian Shrine, and Kiyomizu Temple, and the route goes to Fushimi Inari and Toji Temple. All routes can be taken with one ticket. Travel around Kyoto's attractive spots in comfort with this 'hop-on hop-off'. Please check the website for monthly operating dates.
Contact & Hours
Karasumadori Shiokoji Sagaru Higashishiokojicho, Shimogyo-Ku Kyoto Station Hachijo Entrance (Shinkansen Side), Kyoto 600-8216 Kyoto Prefecture
Opening Hours
- Sunday: 08:15-18:00
- Monday: Closed
- Tuesday: Closed
- Wednesday: Closed
- Thursday: Closed
- Friday: Closed
- Saturday: Closed
Nearby Attractions
Reviews (52)
Hop On Hop Off Kyoto
The tour was worth doing to give one an overall idea of Kyoto. Most of the attractions weren't visible from the bus and were a distance away. Commentary was difficult to understand at times. It was open air so not great in bad weather
Awful!
Awfil experience!! Heatinv on rhe bus while in summer! No clim! It seemed smoke from The engine was goung directly to the bus!! Really public transport is a better alternative!
Love it!
The most easy and money worthed tour, can hop or hop off where you like it, services in various languages, I have done this im many cities and is an easy an cheap way to enjoy...
K-loop in Kyoto
K-Loop was very convenient we were able to see various temples and interesting areas in an efficient and economic manner. The buses have english descriptions and we usually use this service when we travel. It is the best way to get an overall view of the city and determine the areas you want to go back or visit further.
Total tourist scam please avoid
Unpleasant experience and waste of money and time. This must be one of the worse hop on hop off. Recording doesn't match the attractions. At the end of the tour you basically feel you saw nothing except the castle. I hope as many tourists as possible read my review and avoid this rubbish bus.
Nil
Awful it's hardly 25 hours when ends just after 5pm. Commentary was sparse and music played non stop throughout commentary and the entire trip. Was very hard to hear the commentary. Some of the drop off points were merely connections to Railway stations. Very expensive for what it was. Lying for a family meant it would have been cheaper to go around by taxi.
Excelente recorrido
Excelente selección. Que amable personal. Que buen rato pasamos. Una forma inteligente de ver mas en tiempo razonable. Es la forma más sencilla de un recorrido hecho para el disfrute. Claro, las taquillas hay que pagarlas pero lo más importante que es la ruta, la logística ya está hecha. Excelente y rica experiencia cultural por demás. Gracias.
A great way to see Kyoto
We took the 24hr ticket. They'll stamp your ticket from your first ride then you can use till the next day, we started at 1pm and was able to use it till 1pm the next day. The buses runs starting at 0900 to 1800 for every 30mins so we were able to see temples at dusk. And able to see a lot of the sights. They'll even take you to the bus station and take the bus to the bamboo forest park in Arashiyama. It's really worthwhile to use this bus rather than figuring out what city bus goes to temples and parks. The bus stops are along the main road so you have to do a lot of walking to go to the sights but it same walking if you take the city buses. This is highly recommended for first time visitors.
Recommend for Limited Time Visits
3.5* Hop-on Hop-off Can buy online; recommend for limited timed visits 14 stops from about 10 am to 8 pm; 6 or 7 loops Osaka Castle stop is a must Guides speak passable English; are good; good suggestions Point out potty breaks; no bus restrooms Free WiFi Seat belt fastening required Cruise part underwhelming 9 (stops 10 and 14) ; went through locks Metro cards are useful
Quick way to see the major Kyoto attractions
Great staff, both at the ticket office and on the bus. You have plenty of time to walk around the two temples. Good value.
It operates ONLY 3rd Sunday!
I was looking their website because I wanted to take this - then I noticed it only operates 3rd Sunday each month! It wasn't too obvious and I read Japanese. If you can plan on the 3rd Sunday to visit I think it is convenient. Also it accepts only cash - buy ticket from bus driver for 1 day pass.
K'loop
There is a K'Loop bus as I have seen it. But it doesn't run. Perhaps another company uses this bus.
Hop On / Hop Off Bus London
Great way to get orientated, especially if the bus has a local guide who gives a great commentary extra to recorded commentary. Get the Premium pass to get a ferry ride to Greenwich & back - great views from the ferry.
Worst Hop On Hop Off ever
They just operate once a month, don't have information. It was a wase of time. They were lata and make jump from one bus to another with no reason.
A cold but interesting night walking tour of Gion
We visited Gion on a night walking tour on a cold night! The young woman guide was well informed and passed on a lot of knowledge. The tour meeting point was very difficult to find for non locals. A number of registered tour participants could not find it and the tour was delayed. A meeting point out of the cold such as in the nearby Underground Station would make sense! Although the tour centered around the " tea house culture " it did not include even a quick walk through an empty tea house! This tour was interesting but with a bit more thought could be so much better.
I don't understand all these negative reviews
I was horrified when I read all the negative reviews on K Loop. But still decided to take it because I am not very good at finding trains, stations, lines, platforms and then to interchange them, Checked out their website and found loads of information there. A schedule of 17 places or stops, a time table with times on which buses will arrive those stations. Bus operates on Weekends and Holidays and commences from the Kyoto Station - Hachijo Gate. Finding the place was a bit difficult since several locals directed to some other one day pass bus system. Kyoto Station - Hachijo Gate is NOT on the side of the station where the Kyoto tower is situated. It is on the other side of the station. Basically on the side where Kyoto Avanthi is situated. Here is the experience. Missed the first bus at 8.30 am due to difficulties in finding the commencing place. But managed to get on to the next bus at 9.00 am Didn't bother with the audio thing because of so many negative comments. Ticket only is 2000 Yen. Schedule stop Nos 4, 7, 10, 12 and 16 are World Heritage sites. The plan was to cover at least those places of interest. Now for the real experience. The time difference between the bus that you travel when you get down at a schedule place and the next bus is 30 minutes. In most of the places, you have to walk about 5 minutes from the schedule stop to the site. In the world heritage sites one has to purchase tickets to enter. So ques and another 5 minutes. Once you enter there is a lot to cover. More crowds means less walking speed. So if you really want to explore the place, it is not practical / possible to take the immediate next bus. You will have to take the next bus. So basically you end up staying at least 1 hr at one schedule stop. So 17 is impossible. Now here is my advice. Do not plan or expect or feel disappointed or disgruntled after failing to visit all 17 places simply because the schedule identifies 17 places. All depends on the time that you have in Kyoto. If you just have one day, plan to visit the World Heritage cites. But then it will also be a tight schedule. If you have two days, then go
Brilliant for sightseeing but pricey!
As we only had a limited amount of time in Kyoto, we decided to use this bus to allow us to get to as many sights as possible. The cost is quite high when compared to the subway or local buses, which may put some people off, but having already used public transport to get to some of the sights, we felt we needed some extra help to allow us to see everything we wanted to in our remaining time in Kyoto. Using the K-loop buses allowed us to visit 7 sights in one day as there was minimal transfer time between each one. Every bus was running exactly to time so we never had to wait long for the next bus, there is also a QR code on the ticket which enables you to track where each of the buses is on the circuit. Based on previous negative reviews, we didn't bother with the audio guide, and I don't think anyone else did either. The drivers and most of the staff were friendly and helpful (apart from one lady who seemed to be having a nap!) We felt we got the most out of our day pass by catching the first bus of the day to maximise the number of areas we could visit. The buses are wheelchair accessible. Pricey but worth it if you want to see a wide range of sights in a very limited time!
Could be so much better
I always use hop on hop off buses and normally they are great this one is very expensive for what you get, they charge an extra 500yen on weekends buses only run every 30 minutes and the commentary on board is terrible don't waste your money use the normal bus system for 500yen for an all day ticket
We didn't regret this, but
.... an expensive way of getting round, but also easy if you're short of time / are not sure how to get around / don't mind the additional cost. 2 key things: (1) you can't see that much from the bus - you get a sense of the layout of Kyoto but need to get off to see the temples etc - i. e. there's a fair bit of walking still. (2) The audio guide is a total waste of time - inaudible, pointless. You get a mini-MP3 and hand it in when you get off. By the middle stops the guides don't bother offering it to customers as they board and no-one asks for it (i. e. everyone knows it doesn't work). Don't pay for it. (3) We managed to do the Kinkaku-ji, Ginkaku-ji and Kiyomizudera in a day starting at 11m - this made it worth it for us. Had we started at 9am we would also have done the Chion-in / Marayuma park stop (in between the last two above). Waiting for a bus is a pain, as they don't really run to time, but they do come at regular intervals.
Chaos.
Im Gegensatz zu Japan sonst alles sehr chaotisch und nicht kooperativ / zuvorkommend. Auch 2, 5 Stunden vor Ende muss noch der volle Preis bezahlt werden. Erklärungen versteht man nicht, weil in Landessprache der Bus beschallt wird. Personal hat selbst keinen Durchblick, kann schlecht Englisch, nicht sehr bemüht. War sehr enttäuscht!!!
Helt igennem værdiløs service og spild af penge
Tag IKKE med Kloop. Det er bedre, hurtigere og billigere, at springe på metro og bus (eller gå) end at vente på, at denne bus får snoet sig gennem byen - hvad enten du sidder i den eller står og venter ved et stoppested. Bussen reklamerer med en engelsksproget guide (koster ekstra), men det er lige så meget spild af penge. Du får intet at vide ud over uinteressante selvfølgeligheder som fx " foran os ligger de nordlige bjerge og bag os de sydlige, og hvis du kigger mod venstre, ser du de vestlige bjerge ", alt sammen fortalt på et meget svært forståeligt engelsk.
So much potential but it failed
This bus had so much potential but it absolutely failed in it's delivery. I wanted to learn a little about the city but the audio didn't work for about 85% of the trip - we just sat in silence for about 25 minutes while we waited to get to one of our stops and the rest of the time it was just going in and out. Not to mention trying to find the pick up point at the train station in the first place was a feet in itself. It took us a good 30 minutes to even figure it out. Once on, the bus the attendants, although very nice, seemed flustered and wouldn't give the audio right away until we had to beg for it. Also pick up times were a joke. It stated every 25 mins but we had to sit in the hot sun at one pick up point for an hour. At one point I almost wanted to jump on the city bus that came every 3 minutes and probably would have gotten a better tour. Advise to company - increase tour information on your audio and accuracy of pick-up times.
Okay
I did the world heritage kloop bus tour today. Almost gave it a miss after reading such bad reviews. Cost me 2000 yen and was not busy at all I fact I spent quite a proportion of day as only passenger. There were 19 stops and obviously as the day wore on and the traffic built up the buses were running behind They run every 30 mins and i only waited about 15 mins after expected time at the Golden Pavilion The audio system worked but was bit hit and miss with the commentary (kept repeating same info then giving info on sites we'd already visited) Not sure if the Japanese commentary was doing the same. I amused myself maging drunken guide who kept nodding off then suddenly waking up and not sure where she was up to. Staff on buses seemed extremely young and the drivers appeared to be in charge. I was overwhelmed with all the places to see so I found this a good way to get my bearings. not as bad as reviews imply make up your own mind
Avoid
Audio guide didn't work. It's more like a normal city bus than a tourist hop on hop off. The bus is on time according to the schedule tho when i went on it.
Unreliable and waste of money and time
This hop on hop off service cost us over 10k yen (4 adults and a child) and I feel obliged to warn everybody that the service was atrocious and unreliable. We went to multiple places and everytime we had to wait for over 25 minutes and still NO SIGN of the bus. In the end, we had to arrange for alternative transportation everytime at our own expense! Please please do not waste your time and money.
Niet doen
We wilden graag gebruik maken van de hop on hop off bus omdat het ons een goede manier leek om snel meer van Kyoto te zien. We hebben in het totaal 2 stops kunnen doen. Na de eerste stop was de bus 20 minuten te laat, na de tweede stop bijna een uur. De bus staat continue vast in het verkeer. Daar kan het bedrijf op zich niks aan doen maar het is zonde van je tijd en zonde van je geld.
Don't use this
It costs heaps, then rather than have 2 buses, they have one bus that changes routes and leVes you stranded at places it Then doesn't go to. Only good thing was we got to sit.
No way to hear anything, give you money to needed instead
See Kyoto with a hop on hop off bus sounds like a good idea. Finally be able to learn something about Kyoto. We thought! They have a sound system giving us foreigners an outdated FM technology with really bad earphones. On top of that a loudspeaker shouting the tour in Japanese to make it absolutely impossible to hear anything of the distorted sound coming to the ears. A poor girl trying to run around to everyone changping gadgets all of the time, desperately trying to help. Mission impossible. Unfortunately another tourist trap, not worth the money.
Poor service, and not on schedule
Not a good experience. Buses are always late, employees speak poor english, the audio guide is useless, so just walk away from it.
Richard tanner
Probably the worst service in the world. The bus gets stuck in traffic so you end up spending your day searching for the stops and then waiting at them. Much better to get taxis from the start as your end up using them to patch in the terrible service
No point. Don't waste your money!!!!
The guides just collect the $$ and you are provided any headpiece or sorts as mentioned in their brochures! The TV screen is not turned on as well so you basically have to play the GUESSING GAME! There is not much time in between to visit any of the sites... take at your own risk... I got off at Nijio and their last bus pick-up time there is 1355hr. Unless you want to just see only the exterior of each site. My suggestion is to save the money and take subway or public buses!
京都観光に便利！
家族で京都の紅葉散策に利用しましたが、主要な観光地がわかりやすいようにルート設定されているので迷うことが少なく助かりました。秋の渋滞は仕方がないですが、バス車内は混雑も少なく快適でした。
Not really worth it
We tried this yesterday and it was a pain trying to find the stop - they do not have the map or location of each pick up stop on their site (it is on the ticket when you finally get on). Buses were always late - we waited over 20 mins once and 15 another time. This takes up precious tourist time and makes it hard to plan. Cost wise - 1800 yen is quite expensive for an unreliable service. It doesn't cover the lower end of philosopher walk - so you got to walk 20 mins to a stop. When it does work though, it gets you to your next destination far faster than the bus.
京都観光に便利
京都観光の際に利用しましたが、世界遺産をはじめ主要な観光地を巡ることができ大変便利でした。チケットを買うと一日乗り降り自由なので価格的にも大満足です！タクシーや市バスでめぐるよりも便利だと個人的には感じました
Horribly Organized
I have been on almost every " hop on-hop off " bus in many countries. This was the worst. The route timing is ridiculous. On the bus you have to pay $5 for the audio receiver which rarely worked, they have you a plug for one ear only, and you had to exchange it every time you changed a bus. We were left at the Golden Temple at 2:15, and there were no more buses!!! Not worth it at all.
Disappointing
The staff were friendly and the bus comfortable but not a lot of leg room for anyone tall except for the seats at the front facing the side windows. The audio was terrible and we tried 4 before we got one to work and then it had a lot of crackling and static. There was no descriptions or the entry fee on the pamphlet of the places you were visiting which would greatly benefit patrons, because it's probably not possible time wise in one day to stop at them all so an overview would assist.
Poor logistics
There are 3 different bus routes depending on time of day. The morning route has on, y about 9 stops, the midday route has 18 stops, while the afternoon route has 9 stops. You need to pksn hour timing and routing very carefully. For example, if you want to go Toji, you need to go early as the last bus leaves there at 10:06. You cant get there anytime late morning / afternoon. The bus stops running to a large number of attraction mid-afternoon. There are only 9 stops mid-afternoon and later. It's poorly laid out. I haven't even mentioned the foreign language audio guide which rarely worked properly. Even when we finally found one which worked, the audio quality was poor and there wasn't much information relayed. We have been on other country hop on tours which had a constant stream of city information. Kyoto bus had very little info. Buy a bus pass for 500 yen instead. This bus is not worth it!
Great service!
The buses were on time and the company representative sat down and asked for our group's feedback on how they can improve. First time i had a company do that. It was very convenient for getting around and great value for the money considering the number of destination stops it made.
Chronically late with unimpressive audio guide
We decided to take the K-Loop bus in order to avoid the hassle of figuring out the city buses. The website was not up-to-date and seems to be significantly different in Japanese (which I don't read) and English. There was a special discount listed on the website for the previous month and when we arrived at the bus stop we discovered another discount was in place: 18, 000 yen a person (regular price is 30, 000). It was difficult to figure out where the stops were in order to catch the bus -- we asked staff at one of the temples and the staff had no idea what the bus was, let alone where the stop was. Once we were on the bus, we were given a map which showed where the stops were so this was only an issue for the first stop. The air conditioning was much-appreciated and we always had a seat (which would not have been the case on the always-packed city buses we saw passing by). The schedule, as mentioned by other reviewers, has three loops which run at different times, requiring you to visit sites on the west loop first and the east loop last. This was not a problem for us, as we just followed the bus's schedule, but it is something to be aware of. I would recommend catching the first bus in order to make the most of this service and see the most sites. The bus (mostly) runs every 30 minutes, but it was impossible to see any of the sites in such a short time. We took at least an hour at each of them, so we ended up having to skip a few of the stops we'd hoped to make. Additionally, the bus was always late (surely due to traffic, but all the same it was difficult to plan our day). Our bus was in a minor traffic accident (side swiped on narrow streets), so we had to disembark and walk a significant distance to the stop for Kiyomizu-dera, which has a long walk as it is. All the staff on the buses were very kind and helpful, and in this case the staff person accompanied the passengers to the Kiyomizu-dera stop. We purchased one audio guide and were unimpressed. There was often static and more than once the device ran out of batteries and had to be swapped out. There was often a delay in receiving the device each time we boarded, so we missed information. The information itself was mostly pointing things out as we passed as opposed to more detailed historical information which I would have found more interesting. If I had to do it again, I probably would go with the city bus. Knowing that I paid a significant amount more for a service that I felt was not offering me many advantages added to my frustration throughout the day.
効率的で気軽。好きな場所で降りて好きな場所で乗る！
朝京都駅から乗りましたが、一日で、龍安寺 (北野白梅町から電車に乗換) ～金閣寺～銀閣寺～平安神宮～知恩院～八坂神社と効率的に廻れました！私たちはゆっくり時間を取りましたが、もっと多くの場所を巡る事も可能だと思います。 乗る前は少し割高かなと思ったのですが、不慣れな路線バスや地下鉄の乗り換えなどに悩まされる事なく、気楽に沢山の世界遺産や名所を観光することが出来ました。 ルートが時計回りの一方向なため、バスを降りた場所がそのまま乗る場所になるのも分かりやすくて良かったです(方向音痴にはあり難い)。ただし夕方、八坂神社、清水寺あたりから渋滞でなかなか進まないので、後の予定が決まっている方は気をつけた方が良いです。※平日は運航ありません。土日祝日のみ。
It was great
I don't understand the negative reviews some other travellers gave this service. There were several buses. They ran with military precision. Very timely. Kyoto is hot and the sights spread out. I couldn't image taking a regular bus to the various sights. It normally costs 3000 yen, but there was a promotion and I paid 2000 yen. You couldn't do all the stops in one day, but even paying for a second day would be worth it. I was there in July and the heat is overwhelming, believe me, take the bus. The buses had reliable wifi. The stops were clearly marked. You need to keep your eye on the time. The last bus to Kyoto station was 5:30 pm and as the day wore on the bus no longer stopped at the earlier sights on the schedule so I recommend following their itinerary. The hostess and drivers were wonderful and helpful. Tip - don't lose your headphones to the audio guide - it cost 500 yen to replace them.
Buy a regular bus pass instead
We decided to take this bus " tour " thinking we would easily be able to get between different sites in the city. The regular ticket price is 3000 yen for a day, but they were having a special price of 1000 yen whole we were there. On boarding, we realized that it is just a regular city bus with specialized routes. You can't see anything very well because of the design of the bus, and it just drives on the busiest streets. There are also three separate routes that the bus takes during different times of day, so you can't plan according to your own schedule. If you want to go to Nijo Castle after noon, for instance, you are out of luck. Also, the buses come only every half an hour, so you have to tightly schedule your trip. We ended up only getting to two sites on the day we took this bus. We might as well have bought a 500 yen day pass for the city bus.
Circulate through the highlights of Kyoto
I went to several world heritage sites, To-ji Temple, Nijo-jo Castle, Kinkakuji Golden pavilion and Kiyomizu Temple, using this bus. It was convenient and value for money. The national Kyoto museum was splendid, too. After having circulated by K'loop bus, I was able to go to Fushimiinari. It was a very good day.
Excelente opcion
Fuimos a Kyoto solo por un dia y esta fue la mejor eleccion. Sale de la terminal y lo vuelve a dejar alli. Los buses son puntuales y el personal muy amable. La frecuencia es excelente porque permite bajarse y disfrutar. Los templos son maravillosos y los jardines espectaculares. Que linda ciudad,
Toji Temple, Golden Pavilion, Shimogamo Srine, Silver Pavilion and Kiyomizu
I went Toji Temple, Nijo castle, Golden Pavilion, Shimogamo Shrine, Silver Pavilion and Kiyomizu temple by using this bus. It was very convenient.
Very convenient and useful
It was recommended at a tourist information center. Because it goes around world heritage sites and museums every 30 minutes and we can get on the next bus, it is very convenient. The announcement in the car was very fun, too. The city bus of Kyoto is crowded very much, but this bus is comfortable. I think it is suitable for the person who visits Kyoto first.
Kyoto World Heritage Loop Bus
Japan doesn't have many tour bus, this is first bus system of its kind in Kyoto that gives you the possibility to visit several World Heritage sites and other important cultural spots. We chose to ride on the loop bus because Kyoto has so many great spots to visit and we didn't have a lot of time. We bought the tickets at the Kyoto Station, they have all the information on their website. You get an audio guide to listen while you are on the bus. This is an unlimited hop-on hop-off sightseeing bus but we found it was very difficult to see all the places that we wanted because there is only one bus per hour and they only have buses running until 4pm. So we were very limited because of their schedules. Connecting all the wonderful world heritage sites in Kyoto with one bus is a good idea but they have to have more buses running for you to get your money worth and be able to visit all the places that you want.