乗Japan Train Trips
English
How to ride trains in Japan

Kansai (Kyoto, Osaka)

How to ride the Eizan Railway to Kurama and Kibune (Kyoto)

叡山電車の乗り方

Tap your IC card at the station before boarding; without one, take a boarding certificate. At unstaffed stops get on at the rear of the front car and pay at the front.

  • Board at the rear
  • Exit at the front
  • Pay when you get off
  • IC cards OK
  • Fare by distance
↑ OUT↓ IN◀ Front (driver)Rear ▶
Board at the rear Exit at the front

The Eizan Railway (叡電) runs from Demachiyanagi in northern Kyoto to Yase-Hieizanguchi and up the valley to Kibuneguchi and Kurama. Demachiyanagi is staffed all day and has ticket gates; most other stations are unstaffed for some or all of the day, so the trains work as one-man trains.

▶

乗り方の流れ

Step by step

  1. 01IC card: tap the station reader

    IC card users tap the reader at the station before boarding, and tap again when getting off.

  2. 02No IC card: take a boarding certificate

    Take a boarding certificate (乗車駅証明書) from the machine at the station before you board.

  3. 03Board at the rear door

    The rear door is the entrance — on two-car trains, the rear door of the front car.

  4. 04Pay at the front

    When you get off, put your ticket, certificate and fare into the fare box beside the driver. It gives no change, so use the change machine on the front fare box first. Show passes to the driver.

  5. 05Exit at the front door

    Leave by the frontmost door of the front car. At stations staffed at that hour, any door is used and you pay at the station instead.

Good to know

  • The JAPAN RAIL PASS is not valid on the Eizan Railway.
  • In autumn the Momiji Tunnel between Ichihara and Ninose is lit up after dark — see our rail news for the dates.

Sources

Rules differ between railways and change from time to time — last checked 3 Nov 2026. Follow signs and staff on the day.