Kyoto · Kyoto Station
Kyoto Station Skyway
The Skyway is a corridor 185 meters long on the 10th floor of the station building, 45 meters up, that connects the west wing to the east wing. The windows face north, toward the city and Kyoto Tower, and all evening, from 17:00 to 22:00, it is lit with a light show called STAR BRIDGE. Entry is free.
Next to it runs the station's grand staircase: 171 steps and a height difference of 35 meters, from the fourth floor to the roof. About 15,000 LED lights are laid across 125 of the steps, and in the evening they show changing patterns for the season and the holidays. At the top of the stairs is the rooftop terrace Ozora Hiroba, 59.8 meters up, also free.
Good to know
- The lights on the stairs come on at a time that depends on the season: in September from 16:00, in October, November and winter from 15:00, and in summer from 17:00, and always until 22:00.
- The East Square on the 7th floor (10:00-23:00) has a piano open for playing between 10:00 and 17:00, and a model of the station building made of more than 300 thousand LEGO pieces.
- If you want the tower in your photo without glass: Karasuma-koji Square on the 4th floor, on the east side, is open 07:20-23:00, and Kyoto Tower is clearly visible from it.
What is nearby
Approximate walking minutes from the entrance of Kyoto Station Skyway.
- HereKyoto Station Skyway
- ~2 min
Kyoto Ramen Koji Food
The 10th floor of the station building: ten ramen shops from different regions of Japan, from Sapporo to Hakata. No reservations, and all of them take credit cards and have utensils for children. One of them, UNO RAMEN, serves vegan, gluten-free ramen based on soy milk, ¥2,130.
- ~4 min
Kyoto Porta Street
An underground mall under the station square, with shops, restaurants and a souvenir street. Connected directly to the basement of Kyoto Tower.
- ~5 min
KYOTO TOWER SANDO Food
Three floors at the base of Kyoto Tower: a food hall in the basement, souvenirs on the first floor, and workshops on the second floor, among them a Japanese sweets class by Shichijo Kanshundo. On Saturdays there is a tuna-cutting demonstration.
- ~8 min
AEON MALL KYOTO Shopping
A mall on the south side of the station, with a supermarket on the ground floor open 09:00-22:00. Useful on a rainy day and for last shopping before the flight.
- ~16 min
Kaikado Shopping
A workshop that has been making by hand since 1875 round tea caddies of tinplate, copper and brass, whose lid closes by itself when you line
More in Kyoto Station
Appears in: Fushimi Inari: the torii gates at sunrise, Tofuku-ji and the sake district · Kids' day in Kyoto: the Railway Museum, the Aquarium, To-ji and Kyoto Tower