A bowl of ramen steams on a counter high in the station building, and through the glass the red-and-white lattice of Kyoto Tower rises over the plaza below. Rail travelers stream past with suitcases and paper bags of department store sweets, while temple bells carry from the old precincts nearby. The Kyoto Station area is where modern Kyoto meets the old city, a district for arrivals, big temples and good eating.
What is the Kyoto Station area like?
The Kyoto Station area is the city’s great railway gateway, a district of glass, steel and escalators that sits in Shimogyo-ku with some of the most important temples in Kyoto close around it. It feels more like a small city under one roof than a simple place to catch a train. Shops, restaurants, a hotel, a movie theater and a department store all share the same building.
The story is one of old and new. The first station opened in 1877, and the current building, designed by the architect Hiroshi Hara, opened in 1997. Its giant, angular hall was a bold statement in a city known for wooden machiya townhouses and quiet temple gardens, and Kyoto has argued about it ever since. The building houses several local government facilities too, so everyday city life mixes with the traveling crowds.
Kyoto served as Japan’s capital and the emperor’s residence for over a thousand years, and that long past is easy to feel just beyond the station doors. The district suits travelers who like to arrive, step out and be among sights within minutes.
It also suits people who love food courts and department store basements, anyone catching an early train to another city, and visitors who want temples without leaving the rail line far behind. Those who come for geisha districts and wooden lanes will find those in other parts of the city.
Things to do in the Kyoto Station area
The best things to do here pair the station’s modern spectacle with temples of very different scale. You can spend a day moving between a soaring atrium, a tower, two huge temple halls and a temple fair, with food stops in between.
| Site | Open |
|---|---|
| Higashi Honganji | March through October 05:50-17:30, November through February 06:20-16:30 |
| Nishi Honganji | September, October, March and April 05:30-17:30, May through August 05:30-18:00, November through February 06:00-17:00 |
| Tō-ji | Daily 08:30-17:30, until 16:30 from mid-September to mid-March |
The station building itself
Kyoto Station is a destination in its own right, the third-largest station building in Japan after Osaka Station and Nagoya Station. Under its one roof sit a shopping mall, a hotel, a movie theater, the Isetan department store and a good deal more. Wandering up through the levels, you pass shops selling Kyoto sweets, pickles and crafts before the building opens into wide terraces and long staircases.
It rewards a slow walk, especially if you like architecture. Treat it as a first hour in Kyoto, with a coffee or a sweet in hand, before heading out to the older sights.
Kyoto Tower
Kyoto Tower stands a few steps from the main entrance of the station and is over 130 meters tall, visible across the entire city. Its slim white form is a useful landmark when you leave the station and want to find your bearings in the plaza.
Visitors simply look up at it, photograph it against the evening sky and move on, but it also works as a meeting point and a reference for the whole district. Because it is seen from so far around, you may catch sight of it again from other parts of Kyoto and know exactly where the station lies.
Higashi Honganji and Nishi Honganji
These two great temples, the Eastern and the Western Honganji, are among the grand temple precincts of Kyoto, with large wooden halls, broad courtyards and the sound of sandals on gravel. They make an interesting pair to compare, one after the other. Each has its own atmosphere, its own gates and its own roofs sweeping out over the courtyards.
Both open early, which suits travelers still on jet lag who wake before the city does. The seasonal hours are in the table, and they shift with the months, so the closing time in November is not the same as in July. Come with time to sit and look at the beams and the carved details rather than just tick the temple off.
Tō-ji and the Kōbō-san market
Tō-ji is a temple with a wide, open compound where its pagoda dominates the skyline. It rewards a leisurely walk through its grounds, past halls where statues sit in dim light and gardens soften the edges of the precinct.
The best day to visit is the 21st of any month, when the Kōbō-san market fair fills the temple grounds. Stalls sell antiques, used kimono, plants, street food and crafts, and locals browse alongside travelers. It is the kind of market where the fun lies in wandering with no plan and seeing what turns up.
Within reach of the station, central Kyoto has other sights. Nijo Castle was built in 1603 by Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first shogun of the Edo period, and its nightingale floors chirp like birds when walked on, an old way to warn guards of intruders. The Kyoto International Manga Museum is closed on Wednesdays and national holidays, and English tours of the Kyoto Imperial Palace run on weekdays by appointment.
Eating and drinking in the Kyoto Station area
Eating here starts with ramen, because the station building houses a full floor of ramen restaurants. Steaming bowls come in different broths, from rich pork to lighter soy-based soups, with noodles, sliced pork, soft egg and scallions on top. Eating at a counter among commuters and travelers, slurping from a deep bowl, is a very Kyoto Station way to start or end a day.
Ramen and station restaurants
The ramen floor is the obvious first stop for a hungry arrival, and the variety is the point. You can compare styles on different visits, and the shops tend to work at the pace of a station, with solo diners at the counter and groups at small tables. Beyond ramen, the building’s restaurants cover many kinds of Japanese cooking, so a group with different tastes can usually find something for everyone.
Around the building, smaller streets hold casual restaurants and izakaya, the Japanese pubs where small plates arrive with beer, sake or highballs. Evenings here are for sitting down with skewers, tempura or grilled fish and a drink, without going far from a bed or a train.
Department store food and sweets
These are places to browse counters of bento boxes, pickles, tea, wagashi (traditional sweets), pastries and prepared dishes, all wrapped with great care. Sweets made with matcha, the powdered green tea Kyoto loves, are an easy souvenir to carry onward.
Rail travelers also buy ekiben, the boxed meals sold in stations, to eat on the train. Picking one out is part of the pleasure of a Shinkansen day, with rice, fish, pickles and small seasonal bites arranged in neat compartments.
Cafés and Kyoto flavors
For a quieter break, cafés in and around the station serve coffee, tea and cakes, with matcha desserts on many menus. Kyoto’s flavors lean toward subtle, seasonal cooking, such as tofu dishes, vegetables in light broth, and the multi-course kaiseki meal, and the station area is a good place to start looking for them.
If you visit Tō-ji on the market day, street food stalls add a different kind of meal, eaten standing among the crowds. Between the Honganji temples and the station, there is no shortage of places to stop for tea after a morning of walking.
Staying in the Kyoto Station area
The Kyoto Station area suits travelers who put trains first, and the lodging reflects that. Right in the building sits the Granvia, a luxury hotel under the same 15-story roof as the shops and restaurants, and the Hotel Keihan Kyoto has its own bus stops at the Hachijo Gate. Around the station, other hotels of different kinds cater to people passing through on the rail network.
As a base, it works for anyone planning day trips to other cities, since Kyoto Station is served by the Tokaido Shinkansen and connects to major cities across Japan. It also suits those arriving late or leaving early, because the trains are right there. A traveler who likes to step out of the hotel and into lanes of wooden houses will find the atmosphere different from that of a historic district.
How it compares with central Kyoto
Central Kyoto is where Nijo Castle and the Kyoto Imperial Palace stand, and staying there places you nearer those sights. The station area offers a different trade, with transport and food under one roof and a large temple precinct close by. Neither is better in the abstract, since it depends on what you want from your evenings.
The station area tends to feel like a transport district at night, with the lit tower and the glow of the station building. Those who want to wake and go straight to a temple at opening time will like the position of the Honganji temples.
Getting to the Kyoto Station area
People reach the Kyoto Station area by rail, since Kyoto Station is a major railway hub and a major stop on the Tokaido Shinkansen line. The Shinkansen uses two island platforms serving four tracks, elevated above the platforms for the Kintetsu Kyoto Line. The JR West part of the station also serves regular trains, and the Kyoto City Subway has its own station here.
By train and subway
The Shinkansen brings you in from other major cities in Japan, and the station welcomes huge numbers of passengers across its JR West and subway sides. The scale is part of the experience, with signs in several languages, long concourses and rows of ticket gates. Allow yourself a few minutes to find your exit, since the building is long from east to west.
The Kyoto City Subway links the station with other parts of the city, and the Kintetsu Kyoto Line shares the station too. The building acts as one large interchange, so a journey here often involves changing between lines.
By airport bus, on foot and by taxi
Airport Limousine buses depart from the Hotel Keihan Kyoto bus stops at the Hachijo Gate of Kyoto Station for Kansai International Airport and Osaka International Airport. That makes the Hachijo Gate the place to look for if you are heading to or from a flight.
Once you are out of the station, Kyoto Tower stands a few steps from the main entrance, so it is easy to orient yourself. The temples in the area can be reached on foot, by bus or by taxi from the station forecourt, depending on how much you want to walk.
Good to know before you go
Temple hours change with the seasons, so the closing time of Higashi Honganji, Nishi Honganji and Tō-ji in winter differs from summer. Kyoto’s shrines and temples are recommended for early morning or late evening visits, when they are less crowded and sometimes illuminated. Plan the Tō-ji visit around the 21st of the month if you want the Kōbō-san market fair.
In a city shaped by more than a thousand years of heritage, a few hours on foot between the station and its temples gives a good first taste of Kyoto. Bring comfortable shoes for the gravel courtyards and wide station floors, and carry yen for the market stalls.
Sources
- Wikipedia, Kyoto Station (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyoto_Station), checked October 11, 2026
- Wikivoyage, Kyoto/Central (https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Kyoto/Central), checked October 11, 2026
- Japan National Tourism Organization, Kyoto (https://www.japan.travel/en/destinations/kansai/kyoto/), checked October 11, 2026
To plan your stay
- Best Time to Visit Kyoto: Cherry Blossoms, Autumn Leaves, Weather by Month and Festivals
- Where to Stay in Kyoto: Kyoto Station, Central and Eastern Districts, and Ryokan Stays
- Kyoto from Tokyo: Shinkansen Trains, Nozomi vs. Hikari and Kodama, and a First Day in Kyoto
- Know Before You Go to Kyoto: Entry, Money, Getting Around and Local Etiquette