Kyōto Station


Kyoto Station is a major railway station and transportation hub in Kyoto, Japan. It has Japan's second-largest station building 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. It also housed the Kyoto City Air Terminal until August 31, 2002.

Lines

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

Layout

The station has a side platform and four island platforms serving eight tracks for the Tokaido Line and Kosei Line at ground level, three dead-end platforms serving four tracks for the Sanin 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.

Limited express trains

;for the Hokuriku Line
;for the Tokaido Line, and the Takayama Line
;for the Sanin region via the Chizu Express Chizu Line
;for the Hanwa Line, Kansai Airport Line and the Kinokuni Line
;for the Sanin Line, the Maizuru Line and the Kitakinki Tango Railway lines

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 is the platforms for the Shinkansen.

Adjacent stations

Kyoto Municipal Subway

Layout

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

Adjacent stations

History

The governmental railway from reached Kyoto on September 5, 1876, but the station was under construction and a temporary facility called Ōmiya-dōri Temporary Station was used until the opening of the main station. The first Kyoto Station opened for service by decree of Emperor Meiji on February 5, 1877.
In 1889, the railway became a part of the trunk line to Tokyo. Subsequently, the station became the terminal of two private railways, Nara Railway and Kyoto Railway, 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 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 January 8, 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.
The current Kyoto Station opened in 1997, commemorating 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. The architect was Hiroshi Hara.
Kyoto, one of the least modern cities in Japan by virtue of its many cultural heritage sites, was largely reluctant to accept such an ambitious structure in the mid-1990s: The station's completion began a wave of new high-rise developments in the city that culminated in the 20-story Kyocera Building.
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.

Passenger statistics

In fiscal 2016, the JR West part of the station was used by an average of 200,426 passengers daily, making it the second busiest JR West station after. The Kyoto Municipal Subway station was used by an average of 123,360 passengers daily.
YearJR West
JR Central
Kintetsu
Subway
19082,255,334
200060,120,00012,101,00043,666,00038,422,000
200564,388,00011,286,00039,607,00038,582,000
201067,056,00011,580,00037,818,00038,605,000
201573,216,00013,566,00037,224,00044,459,000

Surrounding area

Highway buses

Karasuma Gate

Karasuma Gate Bus Terminal
Hotel Keihan Kyoto bus stops
This bus stop is in front of Nippon Rent-A- Car Kyoto Station East Exit Office.