Kyoto Travel Money Guide

Kyoto leans on cash even more than Tokyo. Temples, traditional restaurants, machiya cafés and the city buses all favour it, so this is one place where you'll want a comfortable wad of yen in your wallet each day.

How much cash to bring to Kyoto

A rough daily budget for a comfortable mid-range trip:

• Food — ¥3,000–7,000/day (kaiseki and Gion dining run far higher)
• Local transport — ¥700–1,200/day, mostly on city buses
• Temples & attractions — ¥1,500–3,000/day (entry fees of ¥300–600 each add up)

Paying your way around Kyoto

• Temple entry is cash — most shrines and temples charge ¥300–600 at a manned gate and don't take cards. Keep coins and small notes.
• Buses, not trains — Kyoto is bus-centric. City buses take ICOCA/Suica IC cards or exact cash; an IC card saves fumbling for coins at every stop.
• Traditional dining is cash-first — old machiya restaurants, Nishiki Market stalls and Gion teahouses often don't take cards.
• Top up at konbini — 7-Bank ATMs in convenience stores accept foreign cards if you run short.

Neighbourhood cash notes

• Gion — atmospheric and traditional; carry cash, and note many teahouses are reservation-only.
• Nishiki Market — a row of food stalls, nearly all cash.
• Arashiyama — the bamboo grove is free, but the temples around it (and the train up) want cash.
• Kyoto Station — the modern exception: department stores and chains here take cards happily.

One Kyoto habit

• Keep ¥100 coins for buses and temples — you'll burn through them faster here than anywhere else in Japan, and tipping is never expected.