Kyōto Station

is a major railway station and transportation hub in Kyoto, Japan. It has Japan's second-largest station building (after Nagoya Station) and is one of the country's largest buildings, incorporating a shopping mall, hotel, movie theater, Isetan department store, and several local government facilities under one 15-story roof.

Lines

thumb|300px|Railroad map around Kyoto station

Kyoto Station is served by the following railway lines:

(Tōkaidō Main Line)
(Tōkaidō Main Line)
()

In addition to the lines above, the following lines, among others, have through services to Kyoto Station:

JR West

JR West/JR Central

thumb|Shinkansen tracks

thumb|Platform No. 5 of JR Kyoto Station

thumb|Shinkansen arriving at Kyōto Station

Layout

The station has a side platform and four island platforms serving eight tracks for the Tokaido Line (Biwako Line, JR Kyoto Line) and Kosei Line at ground level, three dead-end platforms serving four tracks for the Sanin Line (Sagano Line) to the west of platform 0 at ground level, and two dead-end platforms serving 3 tracks to the south of platform 7 at ground level. Two island platforms serving four tracks for the Shinkansen are elevated, above the platforms for the Kintetsu Kyoto Line.

{| border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3

|style="border-top:solid 1px gray; border-bottom:solid 1px gray;" width=60 rowspan=5|0

|style="border-top:solid 1px gray; border-bottom:solid 1px gray;" width=300|■Hokuriku Line limited express trains

|style="border-top:solid 1px gray; border-bottom:solid 1px gray;" width=350|for Tsuruga and transfer to Hokuriku Shinkansen

|style="border-bottom:solid 1px gray;"|■Tokaido Line, Chuo Line, Takayama Line limited express trains

|style="border-bottom:solid 1px gray;"|for , , and

|style="border-bottom:solid 1px gray;"|■Biwako Line

|style="border-bottom:solid 1px gray;"|part of special rapid trains for Kusatsu and Maibara on weekday mornings

|style="border-bottom:solid 1px gray;"|■Kosei Line

|style="border-bottom:solid 1px gray;"|part of special rapid trains for Katata and Ōmi-Imazu on weekday mornings

|style="border-bottom:solid 1px gray;"|■Kusatsu Line

|style="border-bottom:solid 1px gray;"|for and (evening, night)

|style="border-bottom:solid 1px gray;" rowspan=2|2, 3

|style="border-bottom:solid 1px gray;"|■Biwako Line

|style="border-bottom:solid 1px gray;"|for and

|style="border-bottom:solid 1px gray;"|■Kosei Line

|style="border-bottom:solid 1px gray;"|for and

|style="border-bottom:solid 1px gray;"|4, 5

|style="border-bottom:solid 1px gray;"|■JR Kyoto Line

|style="border-bottom:solid 1px gray;"|for and

|style="border-bottom:solid 1px gray;" rowspan=5|6, 7

|style="border-bottom:solid 1px gray;"|■Kinokuni Line limited express trains Kuroshio

|style="border-bottom:solid 1px gray;"|for and

|style="border-bottom:solid 1px gray;"|■Chizu Express Line limited express trains Super Hakuto

|style="border-bottom:solid 1px gray;"|for and

|style="border-bottom:solid 1px gray;"|■Kansai Airport Line limited express trains Haruka

|style="border-bottom:solid 1px gray;"|from Maibara and Kusatsu for

|style="border-bottom:solid 1px gray;"|■limited express trains from the Hokuriku Line, Tokaido Line

|style="border-bottom:solid 1px gray;"|for Osaka

|style="border-bottom:solid 1px gray;"|■JR Kyoto Line

|style="border-bottom:solid 1px gray;"|rapid trains and special rapid trains for Osaka and Sannomiya in the morning

|style="border-bottom:solid 1px gray;"|8, 9, 10

|style="border-bottom:solid 1px gray;"|■Nara Line

|style="border-bottom:solid 1px gray;"|for and

|style="border-bottom:solid 1px gray;" rowspan=2|30

|style="border-bottom:solid 1px gray;"|■Kansai Airport Line limited express trains Haruka

|style="border-bottom:solid 1px gray;"|for

|style="border-bottom:solid 1px gray;"|■Sagano-Sanin Line limited express trains (partly)

|style="border-bottom:solid 1px gray;"|for Fukuchiyama, Kinosaki Onsen, Higashi-Maizuru, and Amanohashidate

|style="border-bottom:solid 1px gray;" rowspan=2|31

|style="border-bottom:solid 1px gray;"|■Sagano-Sanin Main Line limited express trains

|style="border-bottom:solid 1px gray;"|for , , , and

|style="border-bottom:solid 1px gray;"|■Sagano-Sanin Line

|style="border-bottom:solid 1px gray;"|part of trains for Kameoka, Sonobe, and Fukuchiyama

|style="border-bottom:solid 1px gray;"|32, 33

|style="border-bottom:solid 1px gray;"|■Sagano-Sanin Line

|style="border-bottom:solid 1px gray;"|local trains and rapid trains for , , and

|34

|■ Disembarking only for trains at platform 33

|style="border-top:double 3px gray; border-bottom:solid 1px gray;"|11, 12

|style="border-top:double 3px gray; border-bottom:solid 1px gray;"|■Tōkaidō Shinkansen

|style="border-top:double 3px gray; border-bottom:solid 1px gray;"|for and

|style="border-bottom:double 3px gray;"|13, 14

|style="border-bottom:double 3px gray;"|■Tōkaidō Shinkansen

|style="border-bottom:double 3px gray;"|for and

{| style="border:1px solid grey;"

|+ Track layout of Kyōto Station (JR West area)

| ||align=center|Hachijō side (South)

| ||align=left|: Nara Line to Uji and Nara

|valign=middle rowspan=3|: Tōkaidō Main Line (Biwako Line) to Maibara, Nagoya and Tokyo Kosei Line to Omi-Imazu and Tsuruga

|valign=middle rowspan=3|540px|Track layout of Kyōto Station (JR West area)

| valign=bottom|: Freight Line to Kyoto Freight Station

| valign=middle|: Tōkaidō Main Line (JR Kyōto Line) to Ōsaka and Kōbe

| valign=top|: San'in Main Line (Sagano Line) to Fukuchiyama

| || align=center| Karasuma Side (North)||

Limited express trains

;for the Hokuriku Line

limited express Thunderbird: Osaka - Tsuruga

;for the Tokaido Line, and the Takayama Line

limited express Hida: Osaka -
limited express Rakuraku Biwako: Osaka - Maibara

;for the Sanin region via the Chizu Express Chizu Line

limited express Super Hakuto: Kyoto - Tottori, Kurayoshi

;for the Hanwa Line, Kansai Airport Line and the Kinokuni Line

Kansai Airport limited express Haruka: Maibara, Kyoto - Kansai Airport
limited express Kuroshio: Kyoto, Shin-Osaka - Shirahama, Shingu

;for the Sanin Line, the Maizuru Line and the Kitakinki Tango Railway lines

limited express Kinosaki: Kyoto - , ,
limited express Hashidate: Kyoto - , , Toyooka
limited express Maizuru: Kyoto -

Adjacent stations

Kintetsu

Layout

The station has three levels. Four dead-end platforms serving four tracks are located on the second floor. The 1st floor is a shopping street and the 3rd floor is the platforms for the Shinkansen (JR Central).

{| border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3

|style="border-top:solid 1px gray; border-bottom:solid 1px gray;" width=60|1, 2

|style="border-top:solid 1px gray; border-bottom:solid 1px gray;" width=300|■Limited express trains

|style="border-top:solid 1px gray; border-bottom:solid 1px gray;" width=350|for , ,

|style="border-bottom:solid 1px gray;"|1～4

|style="border-bottom:solid 1px gray;"|■Local trains and express trains

|style="border-bottom:solid 1px gray;" width=350|for , , , , ,

Adjacent stations

Kyoto City Subway

Layout

The station consists of one underground island platform serving two tracks.

{| border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3

|style="border-top:solid 1px gray; border-bottom:solid 1px gray;" width=60|1

| width="300" style="border-top:solid 1px gray; border-bottom:solid 1px gray;" rowspan="2" |■

|style="border-top:solid 1px gray; border-bottom:solid 1px gray;" width=350|for , and

|style="border-bottom:solid 1px gray;"|2

|style="border-bottom:solid 1px gray;"|for , ,

History

thumb|The first Kyoto Station

thumb|The second Kyoto Station

thumb|The third Kyoto Station

The governmental railway from reached Kyoto on 5 September 1876, but the station was under construction and a temporary facility called Ōmiya-dōri (Ōmiya Street) Temporary Station was used until the opening of the main station. The first Kyoto Station opened for service by decree of Emperor Meiji on 5 February 1877.

In 1889, the railway became a part of the trunk line to Tokyo (Tokaido Main Line). Subsequently, the station became the terminal of two private railways, Nara Railway (1895, present-day Nara Line) and Kyoto Railway (1897, present-day Sagano Line), that connected the station with southern and northern regions of Kyoto Prefecture, respectively.

The station was replaced by a newer, Renaissance-inspired facility in 1914, which featured a broad square (the site of demolished first station) leading from the station to Shichijō Avenue. Before and during World War II, the square was often used by imperial motorcades when Emperor Showa traveled between Kyoto and Tokyo. The station was spacious and designed to handle a large number of people, but when a few thousand people gathered to bid farewell to naval recruits on 8 January 1934, 77 people were crushed to death. This station burned to the ground in 1950, and was replaced by a more utilitarian concrete facility in 1952.

Aside from the main building on the north side of the station, the Hachijō-guchi building on the south side was built to house Tokaido Shinkansen which started operation in 1964. The underground facilities of the station, including the shopping mall Porta beneath the station square, were constructed when the subway opened in 1981.

The current Kyoto Station was designed by architect Hiroshi Hara, and it opened in 1997 which commemorated Kyoto's 1,200th anniversary. It is 70 meters high and 470 meters from east to west, with a total floor area of 238,000 square meters. Architecturally, it exhibits many characteristics of futurism, with a slightly irregular cubic façade of plate glass over a steel frame.[https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3922.html] During the mid-1990s, Kyoto was one of the least modern cities in Japan by virtue of its many cultural heritage sites, so locals were largely reluctant to accept such an ambitious structure. However, the station's completion began a wave of new high-rise developments in Kyoto that culminated in the 20-story Kyocera Building.

In addition to traditional rail services, Kyoto Station also housed the Kyōto CAT (City Air Terminal), a downtown check in, baggage, and train service for some JAL flights operating out of Kansai International Airport. This service was discontinued on August 31, 2002 due to lack of ridership.

Station numbers were introduced to the JR Lines in March 2018. Kyoto Station was assigned:

JR-A31 for the Tokaido Main Line
JR-B31 for the Kosei Line
JR-E01 for the San'in Main Line
JR-D01 for the Nara Line

Passenger statistics

In fiscal 2016, the JR West part of the station was used by an average of 200,426 passengers daily (boarding passengers only), making it the second busiest JR West station after . The Kyoto City Subway station was used by an average of 123,360 passengers daily (in fiscal 2016).

{| class="wikitable"

|+ Annual passengers traffic by operator

! Year !! JR West (Boarding) !! JR Central (Boarding) !! Kintetsu (Total) !! Subway (Total)

| 1908 || style="text-align: right;" | 2,255,334 || || ||

| 2000 || style="text-align: right;" | 60,120,000 || 12,101,000 || style="text-align: right;" | 43,666,000 || style="text-align: right;" | 38,422,000

| 2005 || style="text-align: right;" | 64,388,000 || 11,286,000 || style="text-align: right;" | 39,607,000 || style="text-align: right;" | 38,582,000

| 2010 || style="text-align: right;" | 67,056,000 || 11,580,000 || style="text-align: right;" | 37,818,000 || style="text-align: right;" | 38,605,000

| 2015 || style="text-align: right;" | 73,216,000 || 13,566,000 || style="text-align: right;" | 37,224,000 || style="text-align: right;" | 44,459,000

Surrounding area

thumb|Aerial photograph

Shichijō Station (Keihan Main Line)

Karasuma Gate

Kyoto Station Building
JR Kyoto Isetan
Kyoto Station Shopping street "The Cube"
Hotel Granvia Kyoto
Kyoto Gekijo
Museum of Art "Eki" Kyoto
Kyoto Station Underground Mall "Porta"
Kyoto-Yodobashi
Hotel New Hankyu Kyoto
Kyoto Tower
Higashi Hongan-ji
Shimogyo-ku General Building
Campus Plaza Kyoto
Kyoto Central Post Office
Omron
Kyoto Bus Station

Nishinotoin Gate

Bic Camera JR Kyoto Station (JR Kyoto Station NK Building)

Hachijo Gate

Hotel Kintetsu Kyoto Station
Kyoto Avanti
Hotel Keihan Kyoto
Sightseeing Bus Terminal
Expressway Bus Terminal
New Miyako Hotel
To-ji
ÆON Mall Kyoto
PHP Institute

Bus terminals

Highway buses

Karasuma Gate

Karasuma Gate Bus Terminal

Dream / Hiru Tokkyu; For Shinjuku Station and Tokyo Station
Harbor Light; For Hon-Atsugi Station, Machida Station, and Yokohama Station
Dream Saitama; For Tachikawa Station, Higashi-Yamatoshi Station, Tokorozawa Station, and Ōmiya Station (Saitama)
Keihanshin Dream Shizuoka; For Hamamatsu Station, Kakegawa Station, Yaizu, and Shizuoka Station
Meishin Highway Bus; For Higashiomi, Taga, Ōgaki, and Nagoya Station
Hokurikudo Hiru Tokkyu Osaka / Hokuriku Dream Osaka; For Fukui, Komatsu, Kanazawa Station and Toyama Station
Seishun Dream Shinshu; For Nagano Station, Sakaki, Ueda Station, Tōmi, and Sakudaira Station
Wakasa Maizuru Express Kyoto; For Nishi-Maizuru Station, Higashi-Maizuru Station, and Obama Station
For Miyazu Station, Amanohashidate Station, Amino Station, and Taiza
Tsuyama Express Kyoto; For Katō, Kasai, Shisō, Mimasaka, Shōō, and Tsuyama Station
Miyako Liner; For Fukuyama Station and Onomichi Station
Kyoto Express; For Akaiwa, Okayama Station, and Kurashiki Station
Sanyodo Hiru Tokkyu Hiroshima / Seishun Dream Hiroshima; For Hiroshima University, Nakasuji Station, Hiroshima Bus Center, and Hiroshima Station
Awa Express Kyoto; For Naruto, Matsushige, and Tokushima Station
Takamatsu Express Kyoto; For Higashikagawa, Sanuki, Miki, and Takamatsu Station (Kagawa)
Kochi Express; For Kōchi Station, Harimayabashi Station, Kōchi University, and Susaki Station
Izumo no Okuni / Izumo Express Kyoto; For Matsue Station, Shinji, and Izumoshi Station
Tottori Express Kyoto; For Chizu and Tottori Station
Yonago Express Kyoto; For Yonago Station

Hotel New Hankyu Kyoto bus stop

Alpen Nagano; For Omi, Chikuma, and Nagano Station
Alpen Matsumoto; For Okaya Station, Shiojiri, and Matsumoto Bus Terminal(Matsumoto Station)
Alpen Suwa; For Okaya Station, Kami-Suwa Station, and Chino Station
Sawayaka Shinshu; For Kamikōchi
Okesa; For Sanjō-Tsubame, Katahigashi, and Nigata Station
For Tonami Station, and Toyama Station
Kyoto Osaka Liner; For Yoshida, Yaizu, Shin-Shizuoka Station, and Shimizu Station

Hachijo Gate

Hotel Keihan Kyoto bus stops

Airport Limousine; For Kansai International Airport
Airport Limousine; For Osaka International Airport
Tokyo Midnight Express Kyoto; For Shibuya Station and Shinjuku Station
For Keisei Ueno Station, Asakusa(Kaminarimon), Tokyo Skytree, Nishi-Funabashi Station, Tokyo Disney Resort, Kaihin-Makuhari Station, Chiba Station and Kamatori Station
Moonlight; For Kokura Station, Hakata Station, and Nishitetsu Fukuoka (Tenjin) Station
For Tsuchiyama and Kintetsu Yokkaichi Station
For Tsuchiyama, Seki, and Tsu Station
Kyoto Express; For Kawauchi I.C., Okaido Station, and Matsuyama City Station
For Kōchi Station, and Harimayabashi Station

Hachijo-Dori Street north side (Kintetsu Bus)

Arcadia; For KaminoyamaYandamagata Station
Forest; For Sendai Station (Miyagi)
Galaxy; For Nishigō, Sukagawa, Kōriyama Station, Nihonmatsu, and Fukushima Station
Tochinoki; For Kuki Station, Tochigi Station, Kanuma, and Utsunomiya Station
Seagull; For Hitachi, Takahagi Station, Isohara Station, and Iwaki Station
Yokappe; For Tsukuba Station, Tsuchiura Station, Ishioka, and Mito Station
Flying Liner; For Yokohama Station, Tokyo Station, Ueno Station, and Asakusa Station
Fujiyama Liner; For Higashi-Shizuoka Station, Fuji Station, Fujinomiya Station, Taiseki-ji, Fuji-Q Highland, Kawaguchiko Station and Fujisan Station
Kintaro; For Shin-Fuji Station, Numazu Station, Mishima Station, Gotemba Station, Shin-Matsuda Station, and Odawara Station
Crystal Liner; For Hokuto, Nirasaki Station, Ryūō Station, and Kōfu Station
Chikumagawa Liner; For Chikuma, Sakaki, Ueda Station, Tōmi, Sakudaira Station, and Karuizawa Station
West Liner; For Gujō and Takayama Station
Karst; For Ōtake, Iwakuni, Shūnan, Tokuyama Station, Hōfu Station, Yamaguchi, Mitō, and Hagi
Shimanto Blue Liner; For Kubokawa Station, Tosa-Saga Station, Nakamura Station, and Sukumo Station
Holland; For Ōmura, Isahaya, Nagasaki Station, and Nagasaki Shinchi Terminal
Sunrise / Aso☆Kuma; For Kumamoto Bus Terminal and Kumamoto Station
Ohisama; For Ebino, Kobayashi, Miyakonojō, and Miyazaki Station

Hachijo-Dori Street south side (Kintetsu Bus and Nankai Bus)

This bus stop is in front of Nippon Rent-A- Car Kyoto Station East Exit Office.

Silk Liner; For Saitama-Shintoshin Station, Ashikagashi Station, Ōta Station, Kiryū Station, Isesaki Station, Takasaki Station, and Maebashi Station
Southern Cross; For Akihabara Station, Yotsukaidō Station, Tomisato, Keisei Narita Station, Narita International Airport, Sawara Station, and Chōshi Station
Dream Wakayama; For Shinjuku Station, Tokyo Station, and Shin-Kiba Station
Let's Go; For Hashimoto Station, Akishima Station, Tachikawa Station, and Tamagawa-Jōsui Station
Southern Cross; For Odawara Station, Fujisawa Station, Kamakura Station, Ōfuna Station, and Totsuka Station
Southern Cross; For Nagano Station, Suzaka Station, Shinshu-Nakano Station, Iiyama Station, and Yudanaka Station
Southern Cross; For Kashiwazaki Station, Nagaoka Station, and Higashi-Sanjō Station
Honokuni; For Toyokawa Station and Toyohashi Station
For Yao Station and Kyūhōji Station
Shirahama Blue Sky; For Inami, Haya Station, Kii-Tanabe Station, and Shirahama
SORIN; For Nakatsu Station, Usa, Beppu, and Ōita Station

Hachijo-Dori Street south side (Osaka Bus)

Kyoto Tokkyu New Star; For Nagata Station and Fuse Station
Tokyo Tokkyu New Star; For Tokyo Station, Akihabara Station, and Ōji Station

In media

In Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris, the final battle takes place in Kyoto Station.
Parts of the 2003 film Lost in Translation were filmed on Kyoto Station's Shinkansen platforms.
The Kyoto level featured in Tony Hawk's Underground 2: Remix and Tony Hawk's American Wasteland is set in Kyoto Station and the surrounding area.

References

External links

- Kyoto Station Building Development
Station map by West Japan Railway
Station map by Central Japan Railway Company
Station map by Kintetsu Corporation
Station map by City of Kyoto

Lines

JR West/JR Central

Layout

Limited express trains

Adjacent stations

Kintetsu

Layout

Adjacent stations

Kyoto City Subway

Layout

History

Passenger statistics

Surrounding area

Karasuma Gate

Nishinotoin Gate

Hachijo Gate

Bus terminals

Highway buses

Karasuma Gate

Karasuma Gate Bus Terminal

Hotel New Hankyu Kyoto bus stop

Hachijo Gate

Hotel Keihan Kyoto bus stops

Hachijo-Dori Street north side (Kintetsu Bus)

Hachijo-Dori Street south side (Kintetsu Bus and Nankai Bus)

Hachijo-Dori Street south side (Osaka Bus)

In media

See also

References

External links