Before you go
Are you planning to visit Kyoto and Nara on one trip?
If you’re going by car, just one thing first.
Both cities have ways for you to get out of the car before you get close to the center.
In Kyoto, you can park outside Kyoto City and go in by train.
In Nara, you can park a little way out and go in by bus.
This article is about that “other way”.
It isn’t an article about finding a place to park.
If the timing’s right, parking is free in both (in Kyoto, in the fall, with conditions that depend on the parking lot; in Nara, only on set days).
Kyoto
When is it crowded? — Fall
The period Kyoto City sets aside for its traffic measures is November.
It’s the season for fall colors.
At this time of year, the city works a little differently.
Temporary parking lots open, and direction signs and banners go up.
There’s a map that forecasts crowds on a five-level scale
Kyoto has a tool other sightseeing spots don’t.
It’s called the Kyoto Travel Congestion Forecast (京都観光快適度マップ).
For popular sightseeing spots, it shows a forecast of how crowded they’ll be, on a five-level scale.
It’s shown by time of day.
The five levels aren’t shown in words but in colors and little figures of people.
Quieter means bluer with fewer people, and busier means redder with more people.
There’s an English version too.
And you can pick the day’s weather from Sunny, Rainy and Heavy Rain.
That’s because the weather changes how crowded it gets.
Some places have live cameras too.
It also points out places that are relatively quiet even in the daytime.
Look at this before you decide the order of your stops, and the whole plan for your trip changes.
“Avoiding the crowded places” turns into “picking the quiet ones”.
The city also puts out whether its sightseeing parking lots are 満車 (full) or 空車 (space available).
That’s for three places: Kiyomizuzaka (清水坂), Ginkakuji (銀閣寺) and Arashiyama (嵐山).
In other words, in Kyoto, the city itself prepares its information on the assumption that it’ll be crowded.
Where to get out of the car — before you get into Kyoto
Kyoto’s Park & Ride has one clear feature.
Some of the parking lots where parking becomes free of charge are outside Kyoto City.
They’re the Hamaotsu Public Parking (浜大津公共駐車場) and Asuto Hamaotsu Public Parking (明日都浜大津公共駐車場) in neighboring Otsu City (大津市), and the Nagaokakyo Station West Parking (長岡京駅西駐車場) in Nagaokakyo City (長岡京市).
In other words, there’s a way ready for you to park before you get close to Kyoto, and go in by train.
There are parking lots in the program inside the city too.
During the fall period, these parking lots become free of charge.
The three parking lots outside the city also have discounts that aren’t limited to the fall (as of 2026).
At the two Hamaotsu lots, get a ticket ready at Keihan’s Biwako-Hamaotsu Station (びわ湖浜大津駅), such as a ticket to any Kyoto Municipal Subway (京都市営地下鉄) station (an IC card works too), and show it with your parking ticket. Then you can buy a one-day parking voucher for 500 yen (except on the day of the Lake Biwa Grand Fireworks Festival (びわ湖大花火大会)).
At the Nagaokakyo Station West Parking, show an entry ticket, admission ticket or the like from that day’s sightseeing in Kyoto at the window on the parking lot’s second floor. Then that day’s maximum fee becomes 800 yen.
Even if you park all day, that’s all you pay for parking.
Sometimes a shopping mall’s parking lot can be used as a Park & Ride.
There are also temporary parking lots that open only on fall weekends.
These have a rule about times.
In 2025, the temporary parking lots allowed 入庫 (driving in) until 2 p.m.
Arrive after 2 p.m. and you can’t get in, so check that year’s times first.
Can you book? — Instead of booking, look at the conditions
Kyoto’s Park & Ride isn’t something you book to hold a space.
What you look at is the conditions for parking to be free of charge.
Those differ from one parking lot to another.
The place to look is Kyoto City’s official page.
In 2025, that year’s details were announced in mid-October.
If you’re going in the fall, look again around then.
Nara
Park a little way out and go in by bus
Nara Prefecture puts it like this.
“The roads and parking lots around Nara Park (奈良公園) get very crowded.”
It then recommends parking a little way out and getting around by bus.
There are four free Park & Ride parking lots.
They’re under the elevated section of Route 24 (国道24号), at Nara City Hall (奈良市役所), in front of the Heijo Palace Site (平城宮跡前) and at the Nara Prefectural Convention Center (奈良県コンベンションセンター).
Free Park & Ride is only open on set days
One important thing here.
These four aren’t always open.
They’re only open on set days.
In 2026, it was the Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays of Golden Week in spring, from April 25 to May 6: 8 days.
On top of that, of the four, the Nara Prefectural Convention Center is limited to 97 cars a day, first come, first served (as of 2026).
The dates change every year. Check first on Nara Prefecture’s page whether it’s open on the day you’re going.
If you hit a day when it’s open, parking is free and you can take the bus to Nara Park.
The real trip starts once you’re out of the car
This article doesn’t list places to park, and that’s on purpose.
The biggest problem in Kyoto isn’t that there’s nowhere to park.
It’s getting stuck around the sightseeing spots and watching your time melt away.
Get out before you get close, and switch to trains and buses.
Then the slopes and the narrow lanes are all places you can walk into.
Kyoto is a city where the farther out you leave the car, the more you get to see.
In Nara, too, what the prefecture recommends points the same way.
※ Everything in this article about free parking in Kyoto in the fall is from fall 2025. Which parking lots are part of Park & Ride, the periods and conditions for free parking, and the days temporary parking lots open and their entry times are decided each year. Before you go, check Kyoto City’s official page.
※ The days Nara’s Park & Ride is open and how many cars it takes also change from year to year. Before you go, check Nara Prefecture’s official page.
