Kyoto Tower Observation Deck Tickets

Kyoto Tower: the white lighthouse of Kyoto

Opened in 1964, Kyoto Tower rises 131 metres from the top of a nine-storey building directly opposite Kyoto Station, making it the tallest structure in the city. Its slender white cylinder and red-and-white crown were designed to look like a lighthouse shining over the sea of tiled roofs, a playful idea for an inland city, and today it is one of the first things you see when you step out of the station.

The tower is also an engineering curiosity. Instead of a steel skeleton frame, it is built as a shell of curved steel plates that carry the load themselves, which gives it its smooth, seamless look. When it opened, some residents felt it clashed with the old capital; decades later it has become a much-loved symbol of arrival in Kyoto, lit softly every evening and visible from many temple hillsides.

The observation deck and its views

A lift takes you to the observation deck, a ring of floor-to-ceiling windows about 100 metres above the ground. From here the layout of Kyoto makes sense at last: the old city spreads out in a neat grid inside a bowl of forested mountains, with the Kamo River running north to south. Right below you lie the huge roofs of Higashi Hongan-ji, one of the largest wooden temple complexes in the world.

Look east to find Kiyomizu-dera on the slopes of the Higashiyama hills, and south-west for the dark five-storey pagoda of To-ji, the tallest wooden pagoda in Japan. On clear days the view stretches to the mountains that ring the city. Many visitors ask when is the best time to visit Kyoto Tower: late afternoon is ideal, as you can watch the sun set behind the western hills and stay as the city lights come on.

Kyoto Tower opening hours and practical visit

Kyoto Tower opening hours are 10:00 to 21:00 every day, with last entry at 20:30, though hours may change on public holidays. Your ticket is for the date you choose, cannot be changed after purchase, and is shown at the observation deck counter as an e-ticket. Plan around 45 minutes to an hour at the top, longer if you are waiting for sunset.

The ticket does not cover two special events: the evening of 16 August, when the bonfires of Gozan no Okuribi burn on the mountains, and New Year's Day on 1 January. Youths aged 15 to 17 pay a reduced price, children under 3 enter free, and families with children aged 6 to 14 should contact our team before booking. The deck is wheelchair accessible, smoking is not allowed, and it is not recommended for people with vertigo. Is Kyoto Tower worth visiting? For a first overview of the city in under an hour, it is hard to beat.

Around Kyoto Tower: Kyoto Station and nearby temples

Because it stands right outside Kyoto Station, the tower fits into any itinerary: visit before catching a train, after checking in to a nearby hotel, or at the end of a sightseeing day. The station building itself, with its vast glass atrium and long staircases, is worth a short look, and the lower floors of the tower building hold shops and places to eat.

Higashi Hongan-ji, whose roofs you see from the deck, is about five minutes on foot to the north and free to enter. To-ji Temple and its pagoda are around fifteen minutes' walk south-west of the station, and buses from the terminal in front of the tower run to Kiyomizu-dera and Gion. If you are asking how to get to Kyoto Tower, simply leave the station by the Central Exit, cross the bus terminal and the traffic lights, and you are at the entrance.