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Kyoto Station facts for kids

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Kyoto Station

京都駅
Kyōto Station.jpg
Kyoto Station Building (Karasuma side)
Location Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture
Japan
Connections Bus terminal
Traffic
Passengers (FY2015) 255 million

Kyoto Station is a very important railway station and a big transportation center in Kyoto, Japan. It has the second-largest station building in Japan, right after Nagoya Station. It's also one of the biggest buildings in the country!

This huge building has many things inside. You can find a shopping mall, a hotel, a movie theater, and a large department store called Isetan. It even has some local government offices, all under one 15-story roof. Before August 31, 2002, it also had the Kyoto City Air Terminal.

In 2016, the part of the station used by JR West had about 200,426 passengers every day. This made it the second busiest JR West station, after Osaka. The Kyoto Municipal Subway part of the station was used by about 123,360 passengers daily.

History of Kyoto Station

The very first Kyoto Station opened on February 5, 1877. This happened because Emperor Meiji, the Emperor, ordered it to be built.

A newer station was built in 1914. This station looked like buildings from the Renaissance period. It was very big and designed to hold many people. However, on January 8, 1934, a sad event happened. A few thousand people gathered to say goodbye to naval recruits. The crowd became too large, and 77 people tragically lost their lives. This station later burned down in 1950. A more practical concrete building replaced it in 1952.

The current Kyoto Station opened in 1997. This was a special year because it marked Kyoto's 1,200th anniversary. The building is 70 meters (about 230 feet) tall. It stretches 470 meters (about 1,540 feet) from east to west. Its total floor area is 238,000 square meters (about 2.5 million square feet).

The design of the station shows many features of futurism. It has a slightly uneven, box-like shape made of plate glass over a steel frame. The architect who designed this amazing building was Hiroshi Hara.

Besides the main building on the north side, there's also the Hachijō-guchi building on the south side. This part was built for the Tokaido Shinkansen bullet train, which started running in 1964. The station also has underground areas. These include the Porta shopping mall, which is located under the station square. These underground parts were built when the subway opened in 1981.

Images for kids

  • Railway map around Kyoto Station

    Railroad map around Kyoto station

  • Kyoto Station 5

    Shinkansen tracks

  • JR West Nara Line

    Nara Line tracks

  • 020 N700 Series Shinkansen 新幹線 arriving at Kyoto Station, Japan

    Shinkansen arriving at Kyōto Station

  • First Kyoto Station

    The first Kyoto Station

  • Kyoto Station Early Showa

    The second Kyoto Station

  • Kyoto Station (building of the third) Kyoto,JAPAN

    The third Kyoto Station

  • Kyoto Station aerial photo 20200819 large

    Aerial photograph

See also

Learn more in Spanish In Spanish: Estación de Kioto para niños

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