Kyoto Station Smoking Areas: Shinkansen Room & Nearby Spots (2026)

Kyoto Station Smoking Areas: Shinkansen Room & Nearby Spots (2026)

Kyoto Station is the gateway to the city — and the area around it is one of the places Kyoto City patrols hardest for street smoking. The station district has been a designated street-smoking ban area for years, so lighting up on the pavement outside either exit can earn you an on-the-spot fine. Here is where you can smoke instead.

Inside the shinkansen gates: the official smoking room

JR Central's official map (January 30, 2026) puts Kyoto's shinkansen smoking room on the 2F concourse inside the shinkansen gates, at the east end, next to the waiting room. It is beside the Shinkansen East transfer gate (新幹線東乗換口) and the stairs and escalator down to the Hachijo East exit (新幹線八条東口).

• Coming from the street: enter at the Shinkansen Hachijo East exit on the south side and go up to 2F — the room is right there.
• Coming from a JR local or limited express line: use the Shinkansen East transfer gate; the room is next to it.
• From the Shinkansen Central exit or transfer gate: walk east along the concourse to the far end.
• You need a shinkansen ticket (or a platform ticket), and the room is open only while the shinkansen gates are.

Getting around the station

The shinkansen is on the south (Hachijo, 八条口) side; the Karasuma exit (烏丸口) with Kyoto Tower and the city buses is on the north side. The 2F north–south free passage links the two, so the shinkansen smoking room is a few minutes' walk from either side.

Outside the gates

Smoking on the street around the station is not allowed. Use only enclosed or signposted 喫煙所 — the designated spots near the station appear on the map below, from OpenStreetMap and visitor reports. Because smoking spots in station buildings and malls open, move and close, treat the map as a starting point and confirm by the sign. You can mark a spot as still there, or add one, on the smoking area map.

FAQ

Is there a smoking room on the shinkansen platform at Kyoto?
No — at Kyoto it is on the concourse inside the gates, not on the platform.

Can I smoke outside Kyoto Station?
Only at designated smoking spots. The station area is part of Kyoto City's street-smoking ban area, and patrols issue fines.

Can I smoke on the shinkansen to Tokyo?
No. All shinkansen trains are non-smoking. See our shinkansen smoking rooms guide for every Tokaido station.

More Kyoto smoking guides

See all Kyoto smoking guides, including Gion, Fushimi Inari and Arashiyama, and Kyoto's smoking rules.

Source: JR Central, 東海道新幹線 各駅喫煙ルーム設置箇所のご案内 (PDF, January 30, 2026).