Kyoto is Japan’s most elegant city, where its cultural traditions are best preserved. Here we expect to find wooden townhouses on lantern lit lanes, ancient shrines and temples, stately palaces and meditative gardens. So a first time visitor to Kyoto might well be surprised by the sight of the brightly painted red and white Nidec Kyoto Tower, commonly called Kyoto Tower, that stands about 2 minutes on foot from JR Kyoto Station’s Central Gate, or Karasuma Central Gate.
Kyoto Tower
A cheerful beacon of 1960s optimism, Kyoto Tower stands at 131 meters high from its base to the tip of its spire, and it is the tallest structure in Kyoto. As such it dominates the skyline and can be spotted from many of the sightseeing locations around the city. Since opening in December 1964, this curious structure has split opinion between those who see it as a symbol of modern Kyoto, and others who see it as a tacky and inappropriate folly.
In this article we will introduce its main facilities and take a look at the history of how and why it came to be built.
Kyoto Tower Location Map
Finding Your Way Around
Within Kyoto Tower are a puzzling array of facilities and businesses, and it can be hard to find your way around. It is important to realize that the structure is divided into two parts. At its base is the Kyoto Tower Building, a simple nine story block that holds restaurants, shops, a hotel and tourist services. This building acts as a pedestal for the tower proper which soars above it for another 100 meters. KYOTO TOWER SANDO occupies the B1 to 2nd floors, Tower Terrace is on the 3rd floor, Kyoto Tower Hotel occupies floors 5 – 9, and TOWERLAND -ROOFTOP BAR & BBQ- is on the 10th-floor roof. Inside the tower itself are the observation levels, with Sky Lounge KUU on Observation Deck floor 3 and the main Observation Deck on floors 4 and 5. Below is a guide to the tower’s most important attractions.
The Observation Deck
The view from the Observation Deck at Kyoto Tower
This is the major draw for the tower and is definitely worth a visit. The Observation Deck stands 100 meters high and on a clear day gives you a fantastic panoramic view over the entire city. Tickets for the observation deck can be bought at a booth on the 1st floor, and advance tickets are available online. The deck has free telescopes dotted around from which you can view most of the major sites in Kyoto, including famous temples and, on a very clear day, even Osaka. Large luggage cannot be stored at the entrance to the observation deck, so travelers with suitcases should use station or building lockers before going up.
Ticket prices are as follows:
Adults: 900 yen
High School students: 700 yen
Junior High & Elementary School students: 600 yen
Children over 3 years of age: 200 yen
Children under 3 years of age: Free
Visitors with disability certificates pay 450 yen for adults, high school students, and junior high or elementary school students. One accompanying person per certificate can receive the same discount.
The observation deck’s shrine featuring the tower mascot in gold
Location: Observation Deck Floors 4 and 5
Open: 10:00 – 21:00 (Last entry at 20:30)
August 16 only: 10:00 – 18:30 (Last entry at 18:00)
KYOTO TOWER SANDO
The lower floors of the tower building are home to KYOTO TOWER SANDO, a convenient place to eat, shop for Kyoto souvenirs, or try a hands-on workshop without straying far from Kyoto Station. B1 is the food hall, the 1st floor is the market for Kyoto souvenirs and food items, and the 2nd floor is the workshop area. Individual store hours can vary, but the broad opening hours are 11:00 – 23:00 on B1, 10:00 – 21:00 on the 1st floor, and 10:00 – 19:00 on the 2nd floor.
Location: Kyoto Tower Building B1 – 2nd Floor
Opening Hours: B1: 11:00 – 23:00; 1st Floor: 10:00 – 21:00; 2nd Floor: 10:00 – 19:00
Kansai Tourist Information Center (KTIC)
Kansai Tourist Information Center
KTIC opened in 2015 and provides services for foreign visitors to Japan. The center is located on the 3rd floor of the Kyoto Tower Building, making it a useful stop for travelers who want visitor information soon after arriving at Kyoto Station.
Location: Kyoto Tower Building 3rd Floor
Hotel and Restaurants
Food and drink options in the tower building include Tower Terrace on the 3rd floor, Sky Lounge KUU on Observation Deck floor 3, TOWERLAND -ROOFTOP BAR & BBQ- on the 10th-floor roof, and the KYOTO TOWER SANDO food hall on B1. The Kyoto Tower Hotel occupies floors 5 – 9 with its reception on the 8th floor. See our articles Dining in Kyoto Tower and Kyoto Tower Hotel for more details.
The History of Kyoto Tower
It is a pity that among Kyoto Tower’s many facilities, it does not have a museum dedicated to its own history. At the very least it would answer the question: who built this lofty space age steeple, and why? In fact the tower’s completion in 1964 marked a turning point in Kyoto’s history, and one that for better or worse ushered in a wave of modernization. Significantly the same year saw Tokyo host the Olympic Games, and the Tokaido Shinkansen Line was completed, bringing Kyoto’s first high speed train link with Tokyo.
Construction of the Kyoto Tower building
The land on which Kyoto Tower stands was the site of Kyoto Central Post Office, which moved to a site just north-west of Kyoto Station in 1961. The decision to move the Post Office was made back in 1953 however, and at that time talk began among civic and business leaders about how best to utilize this newly opened space at the entrance to the city. Under the sponsorship of Kyoto’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry it was decided to set up a company to oversee the construction of a building appropriate to the area that would act as center of culture and industry and encourage tourism. To begin with there were no plans for a tower.
Initial plans for the new “Center Building” were drawn up by modernist architect, Mamoru Yamada, who also designed Tokyo’s famous Nippon Budokan arena. At that time, strict municipal construction regulations limited the height of all buildings to 31 meters, so Yamada designed a 9 story building to stand at exactly 31 meters high. On top of this he originally planned to build a relatively modest viewing platform or radio tower. However, one of the business leaders directing the project was inspired by a view of the Yokohama Marine Tower, and he encouraged Yamada to think big. The architect then theorized that a tower could be built on top of the Center Building which he envisioned as a lighthouse casting its light upon the waves of tile roofed machiya townhouses below.
To get around the height regulations, the tower could be labelled as a separate “rooftop structure” rather than as part of the building itself. This crafty loophole made construction of the tower legally possible, but was it technically possible? Could the base building carry the weight of a 100 meter high 800 ton tower? Yamada called on Kyoto University’s professor of engineering, Makoto Tanahashi to find out, and Tanahashi said “yes”. It was Tanahashi that worked on the structural engineering that made Yamada’s dreams a reality. Because a simple steel frame lattice structure, like that of many other towers, was deemed too unrefined for Kyoto, a white painted cylindrical design was adopted.
Tanahashi’s tower consists of lightweight stacked steel rings with steel cladding on the outside, and is designed to withstand typhoons and earthquakes of the highest magnitude. Though, to many onlookers the tower may resemble a futuristic rocketship, it is said that Tanahashi actually shaped it to resemble a traditional Japanese Buddhist candle, which in fact it very much does.
Kyoto Tower in 1964
Controversy
When plans for the tower were made public, they immediately met with fierce opposition. Local academics and cultural experts objected that the new tower would destroy the city’s historic scenic harmony. The design team’s efforts to create an elegant modern structure were widely derided as a vulgar and out of keeping with Kyoto’s past. Political and business leaders on the other hand, saw only economic opportunity in the new plans and countered that though Kyoto was Japan’s ancient cultural capital, it was not a Heian era graveyard. For the city to grow and flourish, such projects were necessary.
Public opinion was sharply divided between these two opposing views, and to some extent it remains divided. The final decision lay with the city’s political elite however, and they pressed on regardless. On December 28th 1964, one year and ten months after building began, Kyoto Tower was opened to the public and within the space of year it had received over a million visitors.
In the decades that have passed since the tower was built, most people have become accustomed to its rather brash and cheeky presence on the skyline. It has also been pointed out that the Eiffel Tower, when first built, also met with similar Parisian opposition, and who remembers that opposition? However, Mamoru Yamada and Makoto Tanahashi could never have imagined back in the 1960s, how their bold creation would initiate a wave of modernization that would see much of the city’s traditional wooden townhouses replaced by concrete blocks. Though their lighthouse remains proud over the skyline, the waves of tiled rooftops have almost disappeared.
Kyoto Tower seen from the Shosei-en Garden
Article and original photos by Michael Lambe. All rights reserved. Last updated 29-Jun-2026.
