Most travellers pass through Tokyo Station on the way to somewhere else, and that is a shame. Behind the trains stands a red-brick landmark more than a century old, a food hall of regional specialties from across Japan, and the platform for one of the world’s great rail journeys.
This guide follows the journey in the order you will live it. It starts with the history of the building, then covers ticket prices and seat categories, finding the right platform, what to eat before you board, and what to expect on the ride to Kyoto, about two hours and fifteen minutes away on the fastest train. Whether you have an hour to explore or only minutes to spare, the goal is the same: to make the departure part of the trip.
Tokyo Station opened on December 20, 1914, as the central terminal that joined the city’s northern and southern rail lines. It began with four platforms: two for electric trains and two for steam.
Its architect, Tatsuno Kingo, is often called the father of modern Japanese architecture. He chose a Western-style design of red brick trimmed in white stone, with a dome crowning each end of the building. Look up inside the domes for reliefs of zodiac animals and eagles, a quiet reminder that this European-style landmark was made in Japan.
Visitors often compare the façade to Amsterdam Centraal, but Tatsuno reportedly denied any link. But personally, it’s all I can see.
Air raids in 1945 destroyed both domes and the third storey. The building was rebuilt by 1947 with two floors and plain angular roofs. After it was named an Important Cultural Property in 2003, a five-year restoration returned the third floor and the domes, and the station reopened on October 1, 2012. The roofline you see today is Tatsuno’s original design, not the slanted postwar one.
Plan on about ¥14,170 one way for a reserved seat on the fastest train, the Nozomi. Your fare depends on the seat category and the train, and prices shift by a few hundred yen with the season. The table shows regular-season station prices for an adult travelling from Tokyo to Kyoto.
| Seat category | Layout | Fare | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Non-reserved ordinary | Three and two across | ¥13,320 | Cheapest option, with first-come seating; on the Nozomi these are cars 1 to 3, and on some peak dates the Nozomi is reserved-only |
| Reserved ordinary | Three and two across | ¥14,170 Nozomi; ¥13,850 Hikari and Kodama | Guaranteed seat for about ¥850 more than non-reserved on the Nozomi |
| Green Car (first class) | Two and two across | ¥19,040 Nozomi; ¥18,720 Hikari | Wider, roomier seats; every seat is reserved |
Which train? The Nozomi takes about 2 hours 15 minutes, the Hikari about 2 hours 40 minutes and the Kodama about 3 hours 40 minutes. The reserved-seat premium is small, so most visitors book a reserved ordinary seat on the Nozomi.
Where to buy. Book online through SmartEX, the official booking service for the Tokaido Shinkansen, where reserved fares run about ¥200 below the station price. You can also buy at station ticket offices and machines. Tickets include both the base fare and the limited-express charge.
Japan Rail Pass holders. The Nozomi is not covered by the standard pass. Riding it requires a supplement of about ¥4,960 per Tokyo–Kyoto journey, or you can take the Hikari without paying extra.
Tokyo Station is split into two sides: Marunouchi to the west, facing the Imperial Palace and the red-brick building, and Yaesu to the east. The Shinkansen lives on the Yaesu side, and Tokaido Shinkansen trains to Kyoto leave from platforms 14 to 19.
If you arrive on the Yaesu side, use the Shinkansen ticket gates at the Yaesu Central North or Yaesu South exits, which lead straight to the platforms.
If you arrive on the Marunouchi side, enter through any exit and walk through the station by following the Shinkansen signs. You will pass through a second set of gates, the Shinkansen transfer gate, before reaching the platforms. Allow extra time if you want to see the red-brick façade first.
This route also passes the station’s best-known bento shops. Ekibenya Matsuri sits in Gransta inside the ticket gates, and Ekibenya Odori stands in front of the Shinkansen transfer gate, so you can buy lunch on your way to the train. Check your platform on the departure boards, then head up.
On the platform, you will see old friends meeting for a holiday, families saying goodbye as loved ones head home, and travellers like you queuing for new adventures.
Begin inside the ticket gates, in Gransta on the first floor, at the station’s best-known train-bento shop. It stocks more than 150 varieties a day, many tied to a particular region or station, so one shop gives you a tour of Japan’s regional cooking. The word ekiben joins eki (station) and bento, and the tradition is old: the first one was sold on a platform in Utsunomiya in 1885. Each box is wrapped in intricately designed paper and shiny cellophane, every colour and pattern vying for your attention.
For a taste of the capital, choose the Tokyo Bento, a sampler of signature dishes from seven long-established Tokyo restaurants, currently ¥2,050 with tax. I take these things seriously, and poor Dan walked the whole station with me while I hunted for the supreme bento. The Tokyo Bento won because it looked the most traditional and the most beautiful. Mine held pickled salmon in sake lees from Uokyu, a special omelette from Tsukiji Sushi Tama Aoki and braised vegetables from Nihonbashi Daimasu; your box may differ.
For children, or the young at heart, Ekibenya Odori, the sister shop in front of the Shinkansen transfer gate, sells character bentos and boxes shaped like trains.
In Japan, bringing food home from a trip is a tradition called omiyage (お土産). Unlike a souvenir, it is not for yourself: it is a gift for the friends, family and colleagues who stayed behind, usually a regional treat divided into small portions that are easy to share. The custom reaches back centuries to pilgrims who returned from shrines with gifts for their communities. At work, omiyage is a social expectation and a way of thanking colleagues who covered for you while you were away. Because each cake is wrapped on its own, one box can serve a whole office. But for those of us who don’t have the same work expectations, our friends and family will also love this kind of treat.
Tokyo Banana, a banana-custard sponge cake, first went on sale in 1991 and is now the city’s signature souvenir. Each cake is individually wrapped, so the box travels well, and a Tokyo Banana flagship store opened inside the station in 2022.
If the clock beat you to the bento shop, you can still eat before the train leaves. Most Shinkansen platforms have vending machines, and since the Tokaido Shinkansen ended on-board cart sales on October 31, 2023, the platform is your last chance to buy a snack before you board. Selection varies from platform to platform, so use this as a menu of what you may find.
Hot and cold drinks. Expect coffee, tea, water and juice. Hot drinks are marked with a red label. Some machines dispense hot drip coffee, which is a good pick for the ride.
Ice cream. Look for the machine marked “Shinkansen Ice Cream” (新幹線アイスクリーム), stocked with Sujata ice cream in small cups. Sujata has supplied ice cream for the bullet train since 1991 and is famous for being rock-hard, so much so that fans nicknamed it “Shinkansen too hard ice cream.” Platform machines do not freeze quite as cold as the old on-board carts, so it is softer than its reputation. On the machine pictured, cups ran from ¥340 for vanilla to ¥430 for melon. A Baskin-Robbins machine has also been installed at Tokyo Station. Ice cream and hot coffee make a popular pairing.
Platform kiosks. Where a kiosk stands on the platform, expect a smaller selection than at a convenience store, so treat it as a backup.
How to pay. The machines accept cash, coins and transit IC cards such as Suica and Pasmo.
If you have two more minutes. For something more filling, head back to Ekibenya Odori in front of the Shinkansen transfer gate, open 6:00 to 21:00, or to the PLUSTA and Bellmart shops in Tokaido Shinkansen stations, which sell onigiri and sandwiches.
Trains on the Tokaido line reach 285 km/h, yet they depart and arrive to the minute, and the ride is typically quiet and smooth. Find your numbered seat, stow your bags and settle in: even in ordinary class, the seats are roomy.
Ordinary cars seat passengers three and two across. Green Cars, roughly the equivalent of business class, are laid out two and two, with wider seats. Every seat faces forward: staff rotate them at the end of each run, a small mercy if you get queasy riding backwards.
Luggage is easy on board. Standard suitcases fit in the overhead racks or at your feet. Bags with a combined length, width and height of more than 160 cm (up to 250 cm) require a reserved seat with an oversized-baggage area, which you book with your ticket. Announcements are made in Japanese and English, so it is easy to know when to get off.
Eating on the train is perfectly acceptable, so save your bento for the ride. Unwrapping mine, a bright vermillion box, was like opening a colourful jewellery box, with each neat section given over to its own small piece of cuisine. It is often said that the Japanese eat with their eyes first, and never was that clearer than with this lunch. Outside the window, the urban sprawl of Tokyo thins out and gives way to countryside.
Shinkansen trains reach Kyoto Station almost to the second, and stops are brief. Gather your luggage and wait near the door before the train pulls in. If you would rather explore before checking in, the station has coin lockers in several sizes as well as staffed baggage storage.
If rain is forecast, take a taxi. The old streets are beautiful when wet, but cobblestones, umbrellas and suitcases do not mix, and a short ride buys far more comfort than it costs in yen. At the end of the journey, the glow of a traditional ryokan, a Japanese inn, is a very welcome sight.
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