Kyoto & Shiga · Kyoto, around the station

Kids' day in Kyoto: the Railway Museum, the Aquarium, To-ji and Kyoto Tower

A full day within a 15-minute walk of Kyoto Station, without one temple too many: real steam locomotives, giant salamanders, the tallest pagoda in Japan, and a bath with a view in the tower. Good for rain and for tired legs.

A kids' day, all on foot around Kyoto Station. You start at the pagoda of To-ji, continue to Umekoji Park, to the Railway Museum with its steam locomotives and to the Aquarium with the giant salamanders, and in the afternoon you return to the station, to Kyoto Tower, ramen and the illuminated staircase. About 6 km on foot over the day, on flat ground, and in the afternoon there is a break at the hotel if you are staying near the station. You do not need a day pass: there is not a single ride you have to take today.

Verified online, September 20268 stops · 09:00 to 20:30¥8,400 · ≈ $53 per personWalking between stops: 62 minGood with kidsRain-friendlyA rest day from temples

The day on a map

8 stops, in order

Stops: 8
Walking minutes: 62

Stop number on the timelineWalkingBase map: © OpenStreetMap

Open this day in Google Maps

The same stops with the same numbers, and the way from stop to stop. On a phone it opens in the app, and that is what you navigate with in Japan. Pin names on the map are in Hebrew.

Getting there: You start at To-ji, southwest of Kyoto Station: about 15 minutes on foot from the Hachijo Exit, the southern one, about 1.1 km. You can also take the Kintetsu Line from Kyoto Station to Toji, one station, 2 minutes, ¥180, plus about 10 minutes on foot. The Railway Museum and the Aquarium are in Umekoji Park, and the nearest JR station to them is Umekoji-Kyotonishi, one station from Kyoto on the JR Sagano Line, 3 minutes, ¥150. The day ends in the station building.

09:0010:15
Stop 1TempleRecommended
To-ji: the tallest wooden pagoda in Japan and the Kobo market
You start at a 5-story pagoda 55 meters tall, Kyoto's symbol from the Shinkansen window. In the Kodo hall 21 Buddha statues are arranged as a three-dimensional mandala. The grounds and the pagoda from outside are free, and the halls are ¥800 (since March 2025), open 08:00 to 17:00. On the 21st of every month a huge Kobo-ichi market opens here, with 1,000 stalls, and on that day this is where you start. From 31 October to 13 December 2026 the ground floor of the pagoda is also open to visitors.
¥800 · ≈ $5Open in Maps About this place
Walk to the Railway Museum
- Walk · 20 minFrom the north gate of To-ji walk north, under the railway tracks, to Umekoji Park, and along the park west to the museum.
10:3012:30
Stop 2MuseumMust
Kyoto Railway Museum: 53 locomotives and a steam ride
Steam locomotives in a roundhouse, the first Shinkansen from inside, a driving simulator by lottery, and a 10-minute ride on a real steam train, ¥300. Entry is ¥1,500 per adult and ¥500 per child. Closed on Wednesdays. From the terrace on floor 3 you watch the Shinkansen trains go by.
¥1,800 · ≈ $11Open in Maps About this place
Out to the park
- Walk · 5 minFrom the museum head east into Umekoji Park, onto the lawn.
On the way you can stop at:
The Umekoji Park streetcar: A car of the first model of Kyoto's city streetcar, running on a short track inside the park. On Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, 10:00 to 16:00, ¥150 each way.
12:3013:30
Stop 3LunchRecommended
Lunch break in Umekoji Park
Between the museum and the aquarium is a big park with a lawn and a playground, and you eat there. A picnic with bento is allowed on the lawn, but no fires. In rain you eat indoors: at the Railway Museum you may eat in the designated areas, and it has a restaurant and sells bento, and inside the aquarium there are cafes. The options:
- A picnic on the lawn
  Bento from the museum, from the Isetan food basement at the station or from a 7-Eleven on the way, eaten on the park's lawn.
- Umekoji Park Cafe
  A cafe in the middle of the park, on the path between the museum and the aquarium: pizza and curry with Kyoto vegetables, udon with Kujo green onion, and desserts, and almost everything can be taken out to the lawn. 11:00 to 17:00, usually closed on Wednesdays.
- Shizuya, a Kyoto bakery
  A branch of the local bakery chain, with 38 seats, at the northern edge of the park. The best sellers are the karune, the chain's signature roll, and a cutlet sandwich. 07:00 to 19:00.
- Kobushi Ramen
  A ramen shop that made Tabelog's list of the 100 ramen shops of western Japan every year from 2017 to 2025, with ramen on a broth of Kyoto duck and nodoguro fish. 11:30 to 14:30, closed on Wednesdays, cash only.
- Kosher or vegan? Every kosher and vegan place in this city
¥1,000 · ≈ $6Open in Maps About this place
On to the aquarium
- Walk · 3 minThe aquarium is on the east side of the park, a few minutes along the path.
13:3015:30
Stop 4AquariumRecommended
Kyoto Aquarium: giant salamanders and a dolphin show
A city aquarium with giant Japanese salamanders, up to a meter and a half long, from the rivers of Kyoto, penguins and a dolphin show. ¥2,600 per adult, ¥1,400 per elementary school child. About two hours. Smaller than the Osaka aquarium, but without queues. The hours change by the day and entry is until an hour before closing, so check the hours and the dolphin show on the calendar on the website.
¥2,600 · ≈ $16Open in Maps About this place
15:4517:00
Break
A rest at the hotel, if you are staying near Kyoto Station
The day starts at 09:00 and ends at 20:30, and with children that is long. If you are staying near Kyoto Station, go back to the hotel now for an hour: from the Aquarium about 15 minutes on foot east along Shiokoji Street, or from Umekoji-Kyotonishi Station on JR to Kyoto, one station, 3 minutes, ¥150. At 17:00 you head out again, straight to Kyoto Tower opposite the station, and skip Nishi Hongan-ji. If you are staying in Shijo-Kawaramachi or Gion, do not go back: from Umekoji to Gion-Shijo is 27 minutes and two changes each way, and that eats the break. Your rest is the next stop, Nishi Hongan-ji, quiet and free.
On to Nishi Hongan-ji
- Walk · 11 minFrom the aquarium about 900 meters northeast, to the temple gates on Horikawa Street.
16:0017:00
Stop 5TempleIf there is time
Nishi Hongan-ji: the giant halls and the 400-year-old tree
One of the largest temples in Japan, World Heritage, and free to enter. Two giant wooden halls with gleaming floors that children love to slide on in socks, carefully, and a 400-year-old ginkgo tree. Completely quiet compared with Higashiyama. The gates close at 17:00.
FreeOpen in Maps
Back to Kyoto Tower
- Walk · 15 minFrom the temple southeast, about 1.2 km, to the tower opposite the station.
- or: Bus · 15 min · ¥230For tired legs: city bus 9 from the Nishi-Honganji-mae stop, opposite the temple, to Kyoto-Ekimae, 7 minutes, and from there the tower is across the road. It does not save time, only steps.
17:1518:10
Stop 6ViewpointIf there is time
Kyoto Tower: the observation deck and the food hall in the basement
The tower opposite the station, 131 meters. The observation deck is ¥1,000 from 1 October 2026, with telescopes that show the temples, and at sunset you see the mountains on three sides. Open until 21:00, last entry at 20:30. The public bath that used to be in the basement closed in 2021.
¥1,000 · ≈ $6Open in Maps About this place
Up to dinner
- Walk · 6 minCross Shiokoji Street to the station building, and go up to floor 10 on the west side.
18:1519:45
Stop 7DinnerMust
Dinner at Kyoto Station
Dinner is inside the station building or right opposite it, so there is no more travel with tired children:
- Kyoto Ramen Koji¥880 to ¥1,100 for a regular bowl
  Ten ramen shops from different regions of Japan, from Sapporo to Hakata, on floor 10 of the station building. No reservations, and all of them have children's chairs and tableware. 11:00 to 22:00, last order at 21:30.
- UNO RAMENVegan, not kosher¥2,130
  One of the ten ramen shops in Ramen Koji: vegan, gluten-free ramen on a soy milk base.
- Kyoto Tower Sando
  The food hall in the basement of Kyoto Tower, with stalls that suit children. 11:00 to 23:00.
- Kosher or vegan? Every kosher and vegan place in this city
¥1,200 · ≈ $8Open in Maps
On to the Skyway
- Walk · 2 minThe Skyway and the grand staircase are in the same building, about 2 minutes away.
19:4520:30
Stop 8NightRecommended
The grand staircase and the Skyway of Kyoto Station
You finish on the station's 171 steps, which turn into a giant screen of lights in the evening, and on the Skyway 45 meters up, which crosses the station above the platforms facing Kyoto Tower. The Skyway is free and open until 22:00, and children run back and forth along it. From here you head back from Kyoto Station below, for example to Shijo on the subway Karasuma Line, 2 stations, 3 minutes, ¥220.
FreeOpen in Maps About this place

Kids' day in Kyoto: the Railway Museum, the Aquarium, To-ji and Kyoto Tower

8 stops, in order

To-ji: the tallest wooden pagoda in Japan and the Kobo market

Kyoto Railway Museum: 53 locomotives and a steam ride

Lunch break in Umekoji Park

Kyoto Aquarium: giant salamanders and a dolphin show

A rest at the hotel, if you are staying near Kyoto Station

Nishi Hongan-ji: the giant halls and the 400-year-old tree

Kyoto Tower: the observation deck and the food hall in the basement

Dinner at Kyoto Station

The grand staircase and the Skyway of Kyoto Station

Walking Kyoto's eastern hills: from Ginkaku-ji to Gion via the Philosopher's Path

Fushimi Inari: the torii gates at sunrise, Tofuku-ji and the sake district

Higashiyama: Kiyomizu-dera in the morning, the Sannenzaka lanes, and Gion in the evening

Arashiyama: the bamboo grove at sunrise, Tenryu-ji, monkeys and the Romantic Train

Kinkaku-ji, Ryoan-ji, Nijo Castle and Nishiki Market: the north and the center

Ginkaku-ji, the Philosopher's Path and Nanzen-ji: northern Higashiyama on foot