Getting to the BenTen Residences by bus

If travelling by bus from Kyoto Station

If you’re taking a bus from Kyoto Station, board City Bus 206 and get off at the Higashiyama-Yasui stop (東山安井 ).

After alighting, head south (the direction opposite to the one that the bus is travelling in).

If you’re leaving the BenTen properties for a day of sightseeing, note that buses from this stop will take you to Gion, the Shijo Keihan train station, the Chion-ji (site of a famous flea market held on the 15th of every month) and Chion-in temples, as well as the Shijo-Kawaramachi junction in the centre of town, where many shops and restaurants are located.

Walk past this torii gateway, the entrance to the Yasui Konpira-gu shrine.

Cross this road to get to another torii gateway, the one on the other side of the road.

This is the Kodai-ji Minami Mon-dori (高台寺南門通り) junction. Notice the pinnacle in the top right corner of the photo; the spire is part of the roof of Yasaka no To, a historic wooden pagoda also known as Houkan-ji.

Go up the slope on the left of the gateway.

Turn into the first lane on your left.

Walk down this lane…

…and turn into the first lane on your right.

And you’ve reached the BenTen properties! The house on the left is BenTen West and the one on the far side, BenTen East.

If travelling by bus to Kyoto Station

If you would like to head to Kyoto Station or other destinations in the south of the city, turn into this road at the end of the lane where the BenTen properties are located.

Turn into the first lane on the left and when you emerge onto the main road, turn left again.

Walk straight to get to this bus stop. Buses leaving from this stop go to Kyoto Station, the Tofuku-ji and Sanjusangen-do temples, and the Kyoto National and Kyoto Railway museums. The bus stop, also called Higashiyama Yasui (東山安井), is located outside a branch of the Kyoto Shinkin Bank (京都信用金庫).