Tourist office Kyoto
Kyoto has 1 official tourist information centre: the Kyoto Tourist Information Center, known as Kyo Navi, on the 2nd floor of the JR Kyoto Station Building. Kyoto City and Kyoto Prefecture opened it in March 2010 through a joint management council, and the Kyoto City Tourism Association lists it on Kyoto Travel, the city's official guide. The tourist center covers the whole prefecture, opens every day of the year and has staff speaking English, Chinese and Korean.
Kyoto City also labels desks in 12 stations of 7 transport operators, and every 7-Eleven and Starbucks in the city, as tourist information points; they are not counted here.
Tourist information points in Kyoto
Kyoto Tourist Information Center Kyo Navi at Kyoto Station
Location: JR Kyoto Station Building, 2nd floor, beside the north-south free passage, Shimogyo-ku
Opening hours: 08:30 to 19:00, open year-round
Covers Kyoto City and the whole prefecture; staff speak English, Chinese and Korean, and the desk forwards luggage to accommodation.
Kyoto City Bus & Subway Information Center at Kyoto Station
Location: Bus Information Office in front of the JR Kyoto Station central entrance
Opening hours: 07:30 to 19:30, open all year round
Not run by the Kyo Navi council: the Kyoto City Transportation Bureau runs this bus and subway desk, one of the city's station information points.
Visit Kyoto in detail
Visit Kyoto in detail
The Kyoto guide on Tourist Office sets out what to do in Kyoto on a single page, starting with a first day on foot that runs from Fushimi Inari Taisha and Kiyomizu-dera through Sannenzaka and Ninenzaka to Yasaka Shrine and the lanes of Gion.
It then works through eleven highlights, from Kinkaku-ji and Nijo Castle to the Arashiyama Bamboo Grove and Nishiki Market, picks out free visits such as the Philosopher's Path, Nanzen-ji and the Kyoto Imperial Palace, and answers practical questions on how many days to allow, the best season and the journey from Kansai Airport.
Public holidays in Kyoto to plan around
Public holidays change the rhythm of a visit to Kyoto. The main Kyoto City Hall building and the ward offices close on them, museums and temples may keep holiday hours, and Kyoto Travel, the site of the Kyoto City Tourism Association, publishes a congestion forecast with live cameras to help visitors avoid crowds. Japan's Act on National Holidays sets one calendar for the whole country, and the Cabinet Office lists 18 days off for 2026: 16 national holidays plus 2 further public holidays created by the Act's own rules, one because Constitution Memorial Day falls on a Sunday and one because a weekday sits between two national holidays.
National holidays in Japan 2026
- 1 January New Year's Day
- 12 January Coming-of-Age Day
- 11 February National Foundation Commemoration Day
- 23 February Emperor's Birthday
- 20 March Vernal Equinox Day
- 29 April Showa Day
- 3 May Constitution Memorial Day
- 4 May Greenery Day
- 5 May Children's Day
- 6 May Public holiday in lieu of Constitution Memorial Day, which falls on a Sunday
- 20 July Marine Day
- 11 August Mountain Day
- 21 September Respect for the Aged Day
- 22 September Public holiday, as it falls between two national holidays
- 23 September Autumnal Equinox Day
- 12 October Sports Day
- 3 November Culture Day
- 23 November Labor Thanksgiving Day
Local holidays in Kyoto 2026
Kyoto adds no local holidays to the national calendar. Public holidays in Japan are the days defined by the Act on National Holidays, and Kyoto City lists no day of its own: its offices close on Saturdays, Sundays, national holidays and over the New Year period.
Kyo Navi at Kyoto Station is open year-round and the Kyoto City Bus & Subway Information Centers are open all year round, so both keep their usual hours on public holidays.
Japan's national holidays on the Cabinet Office site, in Japanese >