As mentioned above, Shinkansen trains stop at the Kyoto railway station. If you are planning to travel on a famous Japanese bullet train, you need to find the Shinkansen platforms, located in the southern part of the building known as Hachijo (it faces the Hachijo street hence the name).

In 2026, the only station in the city that serves the high-speed Shinkansen (bullet train) is Kyoto Station (Kyōto-eki). Specifically, the Shinkansen platforms are located on the Hachijo (south) side of this massive transport complex. All Tokaido Shinkansen trains, including the Nozomi, Hikari, and Kodama, stop here as they travel between Tokyo and Shin-Osaka. It is important for travelers to distinguish between the "Karasuma" north side, which serves city buses and the main shopping area, and the "Hachijo" south side, where you will find the Shinkansen gates on the second floor. The station is a vertical maze, with Shinkansen tracks on the third floor, local JR lines on the first and second, and the subway lines deep underground. If you are coming from the city center, you must walk through the "Miyako-michi" or the north-south pedestrian corridor to reach the Shinkansen area. Most major hotels in the vicinity are concentrated near this south exit for easy access to the bullet trains.