Nidec Kyoto Tower has a good range of dining opportunities including a casual food hall, a hotel buffet restaurant, a cafe bar with beautiful views, and a rooftop bar and barbecue venue. To find your way around however, it is important to know that the tower rises above Kyoto Tower Hotel and Kyoto Tower Sando, the lower shopping and dining complex. To reach the upper observation levels of the tower, you must first take an elevator to the 11th floor which is the transfer point between the building and the tower.
Kyoto Tower view from Kyoto Station
The main casual dining area is the Kyoto Tower Sando food hall on the first basement level (B1). Tower Terrace, the hotel buffet restaurant, is on the 3rd floor of Kyoto Tower Hotel. Up on the 3rd observation room level of Nidec Kyoto Tower there is Sky Lounge “KUU”, and on the 10th floor rooftop there is TOWERLAND – ROOFTOP BAR & BBQ -.
Kyoto Tower Sando Food Hall
Kyoto Tower Sando’s B1 food hall is the easiest place in the building to browse a wide choice of casual meals in one place. The lineup includes Korean food, gyoza, dashi rice and ochazuke, fried chicken and highballs, craft gin, yakisoba, steak and burgers, sweets, beer, nihonshu, Chinese food, yakiniku skewers, ramen, udon, pancakes, and shellfish-broth soba with obanzai dishes. There are also separate B1 restaurants such as Torisei for yakitori, chicken dishes, and sake, and Daiki Suisan Kaiten Sushi for conveyor-belt sushi.
The food hall has shared seating, so it works well when different people in a group want to order from different counters. Seats should be secured first during busy periods, and customers return dishes to the shop where they ordered.
Location: Kyoto Tower Sando B1 level
Open: 11:00 – 23:00 (last orders vary by shop)
Tower Terrace
The Tower Terrace buffet
Tower Terrace is a buffet restaurant on the 3rd floor of Kyoto Tower Hotel. The buffet includes Kyoto style Japanese dishes, Asian and ethnic dishes, baked pizza, matcha sweets, and tea from Gion Tsujiri’s tea bar. This is the most straightforward choice in the building if you want a full hotel buffet rather than the more casual food hall below.
Location: Kyoto Tower Hotel 3rd Floor
Breakfast: 7:00 – 10:00 (final entry: 9:30; buffet: 2,420 yen)
Lunch: 11:30 – 15:00 (final entry: 14:00; buffet: 3,800 yen)
Dinner: 17:30 – 22:00 (final entry: 21:00; buffet: 5,500 yen)
Tel: 075-371-0088
All Tower Terrace prices include tax and a 10% service charge.
Sky Lounge “KUU”
The atmospheric Sky Lounge “KUU”
Sky Lounge “KUU” is a chic cafe bar on the 3rd observation room level of Nidec Kyoto Tower and offers spectacular views over the city. The seating includes counter seats, couple seats, box seats, and tables, so it can be used for drinks, small groups, or a quieter date-night stop above Kyoto Station.
To reach Sky Lounge “KUU”, take the Kyoto Tower Building elevator to the 11th floor and then transfer to the observation room elevator. Guests using the lounge can use the observation room elevator without paying an observation deck fee.
Location: Nidec Kyoto Tower Observation Room 3rd Floor
Weekdays: 17:00 – 23:00 (last orders: 22:30)
Weekends & Holidays: 14:00 – 23:00 (last orders: 22:30)
Tel: 075-371-0090
TOWERLAND – ROOFTOP BAR & BBQ –
TOWERLAND – ROOFTOP BAR & BBQ – is on the 10th floor rooftop, directly beneath Nidec Kyoto Tower. It is a rooftop bar and barbecue venue with BBQ sets, bar use, events, city views, and seating for both groups and smaller parties. The setting gives it a different feel from the indoor hotel restaurants and the B1 food hall, especially when the tower is lit above the roof.
Opening days and hours vary by date. The posted schedule is divided into Lunch/Tea from 11:30 to 17:00 and Dinner/Midnight from 17:00 to 23:00, with food last orders at 21:00 and drink last orders at 22:30, but visitors should check the venue calendar before going.
Location: Kyoto Tower Building 10th Floor Rooftop
Lunch/Tea: 11:30 – 17:00
Dinner/Midnight: 17:00 – 23:00 (food last orders: 21:00; drink last orders: 22:30)
Tel: 075-354-5339
Article and original photos by Michael Lambe. All rights reserved. Last updated 30-Jun-2026.
