When visiting Japan, Kyoto is one of the must-visit destinations for its beautiful temples, traditional teahouses, and historic streets. And Kyoto Station, the gateway to Kyoto, is loved by many travelers for its modern design and convenience. Kyoto Station is not only a great base for sightseeing but also an excellent place to enjoy a good meal. The Kyoto Station area is home to a wide variety of restaurants, making it an attractive food destination for foreign visitors to Japan. A wide variety of gourmet foods are available, including Japanese, Western, Chinese, and even unique fusion cuisine. You can also enjoy dishes that make use of local ingredients unique to Kyoto, which you should savor at least once as part of your trip. This article will introduce 10 such restaurants recommended at Kyoto Station.
Restaurants Inside Kyoto Station
1. Hashitate
Hashitate is a hidden gem of Japanese cuisine located within walking distance of Kyoto Station and is a restaurant well worth a visit. At this restaurant, you can enjoy bowls of rice topped with an abundance of fresh seafood and light nyu-men (refreshing somen noodles available in summer). The dishes are generally lightly seasoned, allowing the original flavor of the ingredients to stand out.
Official Website: Hashitate
2. Kyoto Ramen Koji
Kyoto Ramen Koji is a ramen paradise located on the 10th floor of the Kyoto Station Building. This area is a ramen street where popular ramen stores from all over Japan, from Hokkaido to Fukuoka, have gathered, making it a ramen fan’s dream come true. Here, each restaurant offers ramen with a unique regional flavor, allowing visitors to enjoy ramen from all over Japan in one location. From Hokkaido’s thick soup to Kyushu’s tonkotsu (pork bone) ramen, there is a wide variety to choose from, and each bowl is a gem packed with regional charm.
Official Website: Kyoto Ramen Koji
3. Sushi no Musashi
Sushi no Musashi is a famous conveyor-belt sushi restaurant located in Kyoto Station. The restaurant is thoroughly particular about not only the freshness of its ingredients but also rice vinegar, tea, soy sauce, wasabi, seaweed, and all other ingredients. Of note is the fact that some of the sushi items are purchased directly from the fishing port in Miyazu. Fresh fish is directly purchased from the local fishermen, and Sushi no Musashi maintains the freshness of the fish to ensure that it is served at its peak of quality. This means that even though you are in Kyoto Station, you can enjoy sushi as fresh as if you were eating near a fishing port.
Official Website: Sushi no Musashi
4. Katsukura – Kyoto Porta
Katsukura is a long-established tonkatsu restaurant that has been a favorite in Kyoto for many years. Since its establishment, the restaurant has been infused with the traditions and techniques of Kyoto cuisine, and its tonkatsu, which has been passed down through the ages, is truly an exquisite dish. Katsukura uses its own unique bread crumbs and the finest pork selected from all over Japan, resulting in the finest tonkatsu. The combination with the restaurant’s secret tonkatsu sauce is particularly outstanding, and one bite of the dish is sure to leave a lasting impression of its delicious harmony.
Official Website: Katsukura – Kyoto Porta
5. Grill Capital Touyoutei Kyoto Porta Branch
Grill Capital Touyoutei is the first Western-style restaurant in Kyoto, founded in 1897, and offers delicious Western-style cuisine in a stylish interior with the aroma of sauces. Particularly recommended is the hamburger steak, which is hand-kneaded from homemade coarsely ground minced meat and carefully grilled after ordering. Wrapped in aluminum foil along with beef stew sauce and served on a griddle, its hamburgers continue to delight many Western food fans.
Official Website: Grill Cpaital Touyoutei Kyoto Porta Branch
Restaurants Outside Kyoto Station
6. Wagyu Junkie
Wagyu Junkie is a restaurant specializing in wagyu yakiniku, located a four-minute walk from Kyoto Kujo Station. The renovated interior of the restaurant has a chic, relaxed, and stylish space with black as its base color. The restaurant incorporates high-quality Wagyu beef, carefully selected according to the season and served at reasonable prices after careful preparation by meat professionals. This is a rare spot where you can enjoy high-quality Wagyu beef at a great price.
Official Website: Wagyu Junkie
7. Yakiniku/Maki-ryori Karasuma Rock
Karasuma Rock is popular among visitors as a restaurant specializing in yakiniku, where they can casually enjoy high-quality beef and jidori (chicken). In the restaurant, ingredients are slowly grilled over a wood fire, which adds a unique aroma and flavor and brings out the original deliciousness of the ingredients. The attraction of this restaurant is not just the barbeque but the deep flavor of the wood-fired dishes. In addition, the restaurant offers a wide selection of drinks, including sake and shochu, carefully selected from all over Japan, as well as hard-to-find domestic whiskey.
Official Website: Yakiniku/Maki-ryori Karasuma Rock
8. Kyoto Chinese Restaurant Seikaen
Kyoto Chinese Cuisine Seikaen is a popular restaurant featuring Chinese cuisine prepared by the owner, who has a unique background as a former rugby player. The restaurant is decorated with the jerseys of various rugby teams, and the official jersey that the owner wore in his high school days is also on display. In this unique atmosphere that evokes memories of rugby, you can enjoy Chinese cuisine with a gentle flavor. Seikaen serves classic Chinese dishes such as baked dumplings, green pepper soup, sweet-and-sour pork, and mapo tofu at reasonable prices. It is a warm and homey restaurant with a warm atmosphere where you can enjoy the delicious taste of authentic Chinese cuisine while still being reasonably priced.
Official Website: Kyoto Chinese Restaurant Seikaen
9. Kizahashi
Kizahashi is a Japanese restaurant in THE THOUSAND KYOTO hotel, conveniently located only a 2-minute walk from Kyoto Station. Surrounded by a beautiful garden, the restaurant offers a serene and elegant view reminiscent of a deep mountain valley. In this serene environment, you can enjoy a moment of peace and tranquility. The restaurant offers a variety of Japanese delicacies that incorporate the freshest seasonal ingredients using dashi broth to maximize the flavor of each dish. Each dish is carefully prepared and beautifully presented, allowing you to enjoy the flavors of the season. In this elegant space surrounded by nature, we invite you to fully enjoy the depth of Japanese cuisine and the delicacies of the seasons.
Official Website: Kizahashi
10. Kyoto Hyoto Kyoto Ekimae Honten
Kyoto Hyoto is a famous “dashi shabu shabu” restaurant that has been a favorite in Kyoto, where it was founded for nearly 20 years. This restaurant specializes in pork shabu-shabu and offers the finest shabu-shabu. The interior of the restaurant is an elegant space that is a perfect blend of Japanese and modern styles, and you can enjoy your meal in a relaxing atmosphere. Here, selected Japanese brand pork, plenty of green onions, and a special soup stock are exquisitely combined to bring out the best in shabu-shabu.
Official Website: Kyoto Hyoto Kyoto Ekimae Honten
In this article, we have written about 10 recommended restaurants in Kyoto Station. Are there any restaurants you would like to visit? The area around Kyoto Station is crowded with many tourists and business travelers due to its easy accessibility. Through this article, we have carefully selected restaurants to help you enjoy your stay in Kyoto Station even more. There is a wide range of choices, from Japanese restaurants that use a variety of ingredients unique to Kyoto, to Western restaurants that offer new taste experiences with innovative ideas, and even exotic Chinese restaurants with an exotic flair. The restaurants in the Kyoto Station area will provide you with unforgettable tastes and experiences once you visit. Why not spend a wonderful time at one of these restaurants where you can enjoy delicious food while feeling the Kyoto atmosphere?
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If you’re looking to learn more about the culture and the local cuisine of Kyoto, this is the perfect tour for you! Take part in this Kyoto food and drink tour and explore the 400-year-old market and the surrounding areas.
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