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Kyoto to Takayama: price, time and JR Pass

The short answer

Cheapest: ¥6,500 (about $41) per person, in about 4 h 30. Fastest: about 3 h 10 to 3 h 30, for ¥11,510 (about $73). The Japan Rail Pass covers only some of the options on this trip.

Kyoto and Takayama are 255 km (158 miles) apart by road.

The two ways to get there

Bus

Nohi and Kintetsu direct expressway bus

Kyoto (Hachijoguchi exit) → Takayama

¥6,500 about $41 · per person
about 4 h 30 journey time
Japan Rail Pass: no A private company, so the pass never applies.
Who runs it
Nohi and Kintetsu The coach company of Takayama, running to Kanazawa, Shirakawa-go and Tokyo, where the train forces a detour through Nagoya. Source The largest private network in the country, between Osaka, Kyoto, Nara and Nagoya. Its Nara station is more central than the JR one, but the pass is no use on it. Source

There is no practical direct train between Kyoto and Takayama: this bus, run by the private Nohi Bus and Kintetsu Bus with up to four departures a day, is the simplest answer, on one ticket. Not covered by the Japan Rail Pass. Fare source

JR train

Tokaido Shinkansen

Kyoto → Nagoya, unreserved seat, then Nagoya → Takayama, reserved seat compulsory

¥11,510 about $73 · per person
about 3 h 10 to 3 h 30 35 to 50 min on the bullet train then 2 h 33 on the Hida, change included
Japan Rail Pass: yes Covered by the Japan Rail Pass.
Who runs it
JR The public rail network, six regional companies. The Japan Rail Pass is valid on their lines and on nothing else. Source
Which train
Hida Hida: A limited express from Nagoya to Takayama, with both reserved and unreserved cars. Included in the Japan Rail Pass. Source

A combined price of two tickets with a change at Nagoya: ¥5,170 (about $33) for the unreserved bullet train from Kyoto to Nagoya, plus ¥6,340 (about $40) for the Hida. All of it is covered by the Japan Rail Pass, unlike the bus, but it costs more and asks you to manage a connection. Fare source

Last checked August 11, 2026. The dollar figure is worked out at the exchange rate of the site's last update and is never stored beside the yen.

This trip inside your whole itinerary

One trip on its own never tells you whether the Japan Rail Pass is worth it. That depends on every other leg of the journey, and on the regional passes, which are far cheaper and cover only their own area.

See what the passes cost

Where to sleep at either end: Kyoto, Takayama · Shirakawa-go.

Why two lines, “who runs it” and “which train”?