Kyoto Station

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Kyoto

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Plan a trip with Kyoto Station

About This Destination

Hiroshi Hara's 1997 station building: a 171-step staircase lit with LEDs after dark, a corridor 45 m up, ten ramen shops on the 10th floor. The rooftop garden is closed from 27 November 2026 until around winter 2031.

Most people meet Kyoto Station as somewhere to change trains, but the building over the north side is worth an hour of its own. It was designed by Hiroshi Hara, whose plan won an international competition in 1991, and it opened on 11 September 1997: sixteen floors above ground and three below, with a tall open atrium through the middle. It looks nothing like the temples most visitors came to Kyoto for.

The Daikaidan, the grand staircase beside JR Kyoto Isetan, has 171 steps and rises 35 metres. Concerts on the 4th-floor Muromachi-koji plaza use the steps as seating, and in most years KBS Kyoto has held a race up them in February, the Daikaidan Kakeagari. After dark, about 15,000 LEDs set into 125 of the steps show pictures that change with the season. They are lit until 22:00, from 15:00 between October and February and from 16:00 or 17:00 the rest of the year.

Across the top of the atrium runs the Skyway, a corridor on the 10th floor, 185 metres long and 45 metres above the ground. It is open from 10:00 to 22:00 and lit from 17:00. The rooftop Ozora Hiroba closes on 27 November 2026 for work on a new station concourse and passage, and is expected to stay shut until around winter 2031. For a look at Kyoto Tower meanwhile, the Karasuma-koji plaza on the 4th floor faces it across the road. On the 7th floor, the East plaza has a LEGO model of the station building made from more than 300,000 pieces.

As a station it takes the Shinkansen (about 130 minutes from Tokyo on the Nozomi), JR lines including the Haruka express to Kansai Airport, the Kintetsu line towards Nara and the Karasuma subway line. City buses leave from in front of the Central Exit, at the foot of Kyoto Tower. Kyoto Ramen Koji, ten ramen shops on the 10th floor, is reached by the south lift inside Isetan. Kyoto Porta, formed in 2023 when the old Porta underground mall merged with The Cube, sells souvenirs and bento on the 1st and 2nd floors and has shops and restaurants below ground.

For bags, Crosta Kyoto on basement floor 1 stores luggage from 8:00 to 20:00, and JR West can send bags on to your hotel or ahead by Shinkansen the same day.

Location

Prefecture: Kyoto

Address: Kyoto, Japan

Nearest Station: Kyoto Station

Hours note: The building's spaces keep their own hours: the grand staircase 6:00-23:00, the Skyway 10:00-22:00, the 4th-floor Karasuma-koji plaza 7:20-23:00 and the 7th-floor East plaza 10:00-23:00. Kyoto Ramen Koji is open 11:00-22:00 (last orders 21:30). The rooftop Ozora Hiroba is closed from 27 November 2026 until around winter 2031.

Hours and fees checked against the official site on 2 November 2026.

Best time to visit: Year-round; come after dark, when about 15,000 LEDs light the staircase (from 15:00 in October to February, from 16:00 or 17:00 the rest of the year, until 22:00). The designs follow the seasons, with an autumn-leaves display from late October to mid-November

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Visitor Information

Payment: Credit cards

Food Options: Kyoto Ramen Koji on the 10th floor (ten ramen shops, 11:00-22:00); JR Kyoto Isetan's Eat Paradise restaurant floor on the 11th floor and its food halls on B1 and B2; Kyoto Porta's souvenirs, bento and cafes on the 2nd floor, Porta Dining in the basement and Porta Sky Dining on the 11th floor; Washoku Koji Japanese restaurants on the 2nd floor at the Kyoto Theatre

Official Website

Frequently Asked Questions

What is there to see in the Kyoto Station Building?

Start with the Daikaidan, the grand staircase beside JR Kyoto Isetan: 171 steps and a 35-metre rise, with about 15,000 LEDs on 125 of the steps showing seasonal designs after dark until 22:00. On the 10th floor the Skyway runs 185 metres across the top of the atrium, 45 metres above the ground (10:00-22:00). The 4th-floor Karasuma-koji plaza looks straight across the road at Kyoto Tower, and the 7th-floor East plaza has a LEGO model of the building made from more than 300,000 pieces. Entry to all of these is free.

Can I go up to the rooftop, and when are the open areas open?

Not for now. The rooftop Ozora Hiroba is closed from 27 November 2026 for work on a new station concourse and free passage, and the building's operator expects it to stay shut until around winter 2031. The rest is open: the grand staircase 6:00-23:00, the Skyway 10:00-22:00, the Karasuma-koji plaza 7:20-23:00 and the East plaza 10:00-23:00. The staircase lights run until 22:00, starting at 15:00 from October to February.

How do I get from Kyoto Station to Kansai Airport?

The JR Haruka limited express runs direct between Kyoto Station and Kansai Airport in about 80 minutes. The airport limousine bus takes about 100 minutes. At the south Hachijo Exit, most buses are highway, airport or hotel buses. Check the current timetable before you go.

Where can I leave luggage at Kyoto Station?

Crosta Kyoto, the staffed luggage counter on basement floor 1 of the station building, is open 8:00-20:00. There are coin lockers in the station and in the building's facilities, and JR West's site shows which ICOCA lockers at Kyoto are free in real time. If you would rather not carry bags at all, JR West can deliver them from the station to your hotel, or send them ahead by Shinkansen to pick up later the same day. The city's Hands Free Kyoto site lists the other options.

How far is it to Fushimi Inari and the other first sights?

Fushimi Inari Taisha is two stops down the JR Nara Line, about 5 minutes, and the shrine is right next to Inari Station. For To-ji, take the Kintetsu Kyoto Line one stop to To-ji Station (limited expresses do not stop there) and walk about 7 minutes. Buses from the Central Exit go to Kiyomizu-dera and Gion, but those queues are often long.