Kyoto Station facts for kids

Kyoto Station
Quick facts for kids Kyoto Station ; 京都駅
	Kyoto Station Building (Karasuma side)
Location	Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture; Japan
Connections	Bus terminal
Traffic
Passengers (FY2015)	255 million

Kyoto 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.

It also housed the Kyoto City Air Terminal until August 31, 2002.

In 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 Osaka. The Kyoto Municipal Subway station was used by an average of 123,360 passengers daily.

History

The first Kyoto Station opened for service by decree of Emperor Meiji on February 5, 1877.

The station was replaced by a newer, Renaissance-inspired facility in 1914. 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 useful 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.

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.

Images for kids

Shinkansen tracks
Nara Line tracks
The first Kyoto Station
The second Kyoto Station
The third Kyoto Station
Kyoto Station