Kyoto Station

Station Information and History

Kyoto Station (in Japanese: 京都駅, Kyoto Eki) is located in the south of Kyoto city. Kyoto Tower is directly opposite the station’s main Central Gate. Construction of the station began in December 1993 and was completed in July 1997. It was put into service in the same year. The building was built on the 1,200th anniversary of the capital's foundation in Kyoto. Designed by the Japanese architect Hiroshi Hara, the building displays a futuristic design and atmosphere.  

• Address: Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto
• Station hotline: + 81-78-2610681

As the third-largest railway station in Japan, Kyoto Station is the city’s transportation hub. No matter whether you travel with the Japan Railways Group or with other railway or subway companies, you should go to this station. The station is also a platform for a large bus terminal where you can find city buses and long-distance buses.

The station includes two sides: the north side is Karasuma and the south side is Hachijo. The bus terminal, Kyoto Tower, and the downtown area are located on the north side while several hotels, Shinkansen platforms, and Kintetsu Kyoto Station are on the south side.  

Kyoto Station’s Facilities

Kyoto Station is 60 meters tall and 470 meters wide with a total space of 238,000 square meters. It has three floors underground and 16 floors aboveground.

Floor	Facilities
15th floor	The Sky Garden where visitors can have a bird’s-eye view of Kyoto
7th floor	Isetan department store
	The Museum ‘Eki’ Kyoto
3rd floor	Baggage storage and a luggage forwarding service
2nd floor	Kyoto Tourist Information Center (open: 08:30–19:00)

Transportation

JR Train Lines

JR Platforms 0–10

Platform	Route
1	There is no platform 1 since this track is for freight trains.
0	Board the Thunderbird Limited Express on the Hokuriku Line for Fukui, Kanazawa, and Toyama.
	Board the Shinano Limited Express on the Tokaido/Chuo lines for Nagano.
2 and 3	Board the JR Biwako Line for Otsu, Omi Hachiman, Hikone, and the Hokuriku region.
	Board the JR Kosei Line for Hieizan Sakamoto, Ogoto Onsen, and Omi Maiko.
4 and 5	Board the JR Kyoto Line for Osaka, Sannomiya, and Himeji.
6 and 7	Board the Super Hakuto Limited Express on the Chizukyuko Line for Tottori and Kurayoshi.
	Board the Kuroshio Limited Express on the JR Kinokuni Line for Wakayama, Shirahama, and Shingu.
8, 9, and 10	Board the JR Nara Line for Tofukuji, Inari, Uji, and Nara.

Platforms 30–33

Platform	Route
30	Board the Limited Express Haruka for Kansai International Airport.
31, 32, and 33	Board the JR Sagano Line for Nijo, Uzumasa, and Saga-Arashiyama.

Shinkansen Platforms

• Location: in the southeast side of Kyoto Station

Tips: There are two transfer gates where passengers can transfer from regular trains to Shinkansen — the Shinkansen East Transfer Gate and the Shinkansen Central Transfer Gate.

Platform	Route
11 and 12	Board the trains for Nagoya and Tokyo.
13 and 14	Board the trains for Shin-Osaka and Hakata.

Kintetsu Kyoto Station

• Location: on the 2nd floor of the south building of Kyoto Station
• Operating company: Kintetsu Corporation

Platform	Route
1 and 2	Board Limited Express trains.
All platforms	Board local trains and Express trains.

Kyoto Subway Station

Line	Route
Karasuma Subway Line	From north to south through Kyoto city
Tozai Line	From east to west through the city

Neighborhood Around Kyoto Station

Hotels

Piece Hostel Kyoto: budget hotel
22 Pieces: boutique hotel

Hotel Granvia Kyoto: business hotel

Shopping

Isetan department store (open: 10:00–20:00)

Porta underground shopping mall (open: 10:00–20:30 on weekdays; 10:00–21:00 at weekends)

The CUBE shopping mall (open: 08:30–20:00 on weekdays; 09:30–22:00 at weekends)

Dining

The CUBE Gourmet Street: on the 11th floor at the west side of the building — there are nine restaurants on this street.