From To-ji Temple's Five-Story Pagoda to Umekoji (For Families)

After visiting To-ji Temple, home to the tallest wooden pagoda in Japan, walk north to Umekoji Park. This family-friendly, full-day course allows you to enjoy open lawns and gardens, encounter trains from steam locomotives to Shinkansen bullet trains at the Kyoto Railway Museum, and see aquatic life from Kyoto's rivers and seas at the Kyoto Aquarium.

History and Local Charm

When Heian-kyo was established in 794, To-ji Temple and Sai-ji Temple were built flanking Rajomon Gate, the city's main gate. In 823, Emperor Saga entrusted To-ji Temple to Kobo Daishi Kukai, who had returned from studying Esoteric Buddhism in Tang China. Sai-ji Temple and Rajomon Gate vanished over time, leaving To-ji Temple as the only remaining architectural relic of Heian-kyo. At the lawn area of Umekoji Park to the north, Nishihachijo-tei, a complex of residences belonging to the Taira clan including Taira no Kiyomori, stood near the end of the Heian period. The park grounds were originally part of the land purchased in 1913 for the Umekoji Freight Station, and the park opened in 1995 to commemorate the 1,200th anniversary of the founding of the capital at Heian-kyo. Within the park, the Kyoto Aquarium opened in 2012, followed by the Kyoto Railway Museum in 2016, creating an area where visitors can enjoy spending an entire day.

Major Highlights

• ​To-ji Temple​​: Also called Kyoogokoku-ji Temple, this is the head temple of the Shingon sect. Its National Treasure five-story pagoda, standing about 55 meters high, is the fifth-generation tower, rebuilt in 1644 with the support of Tokugawa Iemitsu. The lecture hall houses a Three-Dimensional Mandala featuring 21 statues centered around Dainichi Nyorai, and the temple was designated a World Heritage site in 1994.
• ​Umekoji Park​​: An urban park covering approximately 13.7 hectares, centered around a 2.3-hectare open lawn area. It features the Suzaku Garden, which includes "Mizukagami" (water mirror)—a pond with water just 1 centimeter deep resting over Indian black granite—as well as "Inochi-no-Mori," a biotope explored along an elevated canopy corridor, and "Shiden Hiroba," where four Kyoto city tram cars from the Taisho and Showa eras are displayed.
• ​Kyoto Railway Museum​​: Developed from the Umekoji Steam Locomotive Museum, this is one of Japan's largest railway museums, preserving and exhibiting 54 vehicles ranging from steam locomotives to Shinkansen. In the roundhouse, designated an Important Cultural Property of Japan, steam locomotives are lined up around a turntable, and visitors can take a 1-kilometer round trip on the "SL Steam-go" hauled by a real steam locomotive. Driving simulators are also available to experience a train driver's duties.
• ​Kyoto Aquarium​​: Kyoto City's first full-scale aquarium, operating entirely with 100% artificial seawater. Visitors can explore the connection of water and the life it sustains, from Japanese giant salamanders living in Kyoto's rivers to the approximately 500-ton "Kyoto Sea" large tank, an exhibit of around 30 jellyfish species, and the dolphin stadium featuring bottlenose dolphins.

Recommended Route and Duration

The entire course takes approximately 6 hours. To-ji Temple is a 10-minute walk from Kintetsu To-ji Station, or about a 15-minute walk from the Hachijo Exit of JR Kyoto Station. On the 21st of every month, the grounds become lively with the Kobo-ichi Market, featuring nearly 1,000 stalls. Walking about 800 meters north-northwest from To-ji Temple brings you to Umekoji Park. Entry to the Suzaku Garden and Inochi-no-Mori is through the second floor of Midori-no-Yakata, located on the west side of the park. The Kyoto Railway Museum is on the west side of the park, and the Kyoto Aquarium is located about 500 meters to its east.

From the Sky Terrace, an outdoor observation deck on the south side of the 3rd floor of the Kyoto Railway Museum's main building, you can see the five-story pagoda of To-ji Temple beyond the tracks of the Shinkansen, JR Kyoto Line, and Sagano Line. You can also view the Shinkansen tracks and the pagoda of To-ji Temple from the upper rows of spectator seats at the Kyoto Aquarium's dolphin stadium. For the return trip, it is about a 7-minute walk from the Kyoto Aquarium to Umekoji-Kyotonishi Station on the JR Sagano Line, or about 15 minutes to the Central Exit of Kyoto Station.

Summary of the Experience

After gazing up at the five-story pagoda of To-ji Temple that endures from Heian-kyo, play on the lawns and in the gardens, then immerse yourself in the worlds of railways and aquatic creatures. Look back toward the pagoda you visited earlier from the Sky Terrace of the railway museum or the dolphin stadium of the aquarium.