Kyoto Station

Opened in 1997 to celebrate the 1,200th anniversary of the foundation of Kyoto (Heian-kyo) as the capital of Japan, the 15-story, glass-plated gray monolith, was designed by Hiroshi Hara.

Kyoto Station functions as a major Shinkansen stop for the Tokaido-Sanyo Line, going to and from Tokyo Station, going to and from Hiroshima Station, and going to and from Shin-Osaka Station. Simultaneously, it has train transport options going to Kanazawa and other destinations! 

Kyoto receives nearly 50 million tourists a year, 99% of them domestic, Japanese visitors on day-trips, and it certainly would seem a huge station is necessary to deal with them all. Compared with Nagoya Station or Tokyo Station, Kyoto Station does not have as crowded or a rushed feel due to its size.

Hara's ambitious design replaced a more brutalist 1950's concrete building, after the quaint, though aging Renaissance style structure, built in 1914 had burnt down in 1952. This in turn had superseded the original 1878 Meiji-era Kyoto Station.

Kyoto Station's stats are impressive - it comprises a huge 60 meter tall atrium, measures 470 meters from east to west and has a total floor space of 238,000 square meters. The Kyoto Station's building includes a department store, the Granvia Hotel, a theater, exhibition space, a museum as well as numerous shops and restaurants. The Sky Garden on the top 15th floor is a pleasant roof garden with incredible views of the city. Directly outside the station is Kyoto Tower, which is illuminated at night.

The Kyoto Eki Museum is on the 7th floor of Kyoto Station and is part of the Isetan Department Store. 

The main Kyoto Tourist Office is on the second floor of the station and has a vast amount of information on Kyoto and English, Korean, and Chinese-speaking staff who can help you find accommodation and provide advice for onward travel and upcoming events and festivals in Kyoto.

Just across from the Kyoto Tourist Office is a room full of coin lockers, though they are often full, so visitors may want to make use of the baggage storage and luggage forwarding services at the Kansai Tourist Information Center on the 3F of Kyoto Tower, opposite the main exit of Kyoto Station. Baggage storage is 500 yen per day, often reduced to 300 yen.

All Kyoto city buses radiate out from the station's bus terminal as well as the tourist specific Raku buses and there is a lot to see within easy walking or cycling distance of Kyoto Station itself.

Some handy buses include the #5 which runs through Okazaki and up to Shugakuin, the #206 to Kitaoji Bus Terminal, the #9 to Daitokuji Temple, the #28 to Arashiyama and Daikakuji, the #33 to Katsura Rikyu and the #205 to Kinkakuji Temple.

Kyoto Station is on the JR Tokaido Shinkansen route to Tokyo. Other JR lines radiating from Kyoto Station are the Nara Line south to JR Nara Station via Kizu and the San'in Main Line west to Shimonoseki through Fukui, Shimane and Yamaguchi Prefectures.

The San'in Main Line also connects to Sonobe, Fukuchiyama and Kinosaki Onsen on its route west.The Kansai Airport Limited Express, Haruka, to Kansai International Airport (KIX) operates mainly from Kyoto Station with some through trains to Maibara.

There are frequent Special Rapid Services to Osaka, Sannomiya Station in Kobe and Himeji. The JR Ocean Arrow runs from Kyoto Station to Shingu in Wakayama Prefecture stopping at Shin Osaka, Tennoji and Wakayama stations. Overnight services passing through Kyoto Station include the Kitaguni train to Niigata and the Twilight Express to Sapporo. Both trains originate in Osaka. The Kintetsu Nara Line offers trains between Kyoto Station and Nara Kintetsu Station. Kyoto Station is also on the Karasuma subway line running north-south through the city.

Kyoto Station is an important bus terminus for buses to various destinations in the Kansai as well as Highway buses to Nagoya, Tokyo and other major destinations.

Higashi and Nishi Honganji Temples and Shosei-en Garden (Kikokutei) directly to the north, Sanjusangendo Temple and the National Museum to the east across the Kamo River, Toji Temple and its famous flea market to the south and the Umekoji Steam Locomotive Preservation Hall to the east. For old station buffs, Umekoji Steam Locomotive Preservation Hall just outside Umekoji Park preserves Nijo Station, the oldest wooden railway station in Japan, which was built in 1904 and replaced in 1996 by an equally fine modern building.