【Omiya Station / Night Walk】(Kyoto City, Kyoto) Shijo-Omiya and a Quiet Arcade at Night

May 5th, 2026

KyotoKyoto CityOmiya StationAround the Station

Shijo-Omiya intersection at night, with the entrance to Hankyu Omiya Station and a bus passing by

Visited: Monday, December 8, 2025

After leaving Tokyo and continuing west, I arrived in Kyoto from Mie.
This walk begins around Omiya Station on the Hankyu Kyoto Line.

On a personal note, I spent about two years coming to this area as a ronin student preparing for university entrance exams roughly 30 years ago. I studied here, lingered around the station, and wasted time with friends in ways that only make sense when you are young. Returning now, the area feels deeply nostalgic, and the fact that so much of it has barely changed is both comforting and a little strange.

Omiya Station is located at Shijo-Omiya, where Shijo-dori and Omiya-dori meet. The Hankyu station is underground, while Randen Shijo-Omiya Station stands nearby at street level. Although this area is close to central Kyoto, it feels different from Kawaramachi or Gion at night. Rather than a sightseeing district, it comes across as an everyday station area used by local residents.

Around the Station

The area near Shijo-Omiya intersection at night, with convenience stores and restaurants lit up

There are convenience stores and restaurants around the station. The fruit shop in front of the station has been there since 30 years ago. The shop next to it used to be Lotteria and is now Zetteria, but the exterior still feels surprisingly familiar.

A street near Omiya Station at night, lined with shuttered storefronts and small buildings

I wondered whether the pachinko parlor was still operating. Seeing the two young people in the street reminded me of the nights when I stayed out late with friends, talking about all kinds of things. I cannot remember the details, which probably means most of it was wonderfully pointless.

A small restaurant street near Omiya Station, with izakaya lights along a narrow road

This narrow street is Omiya-dori, the road that gives Omiya Station its name. Its compact width feels typical of Kyoto's older city streets. Izakayas and small shops were still glowing, and some buildings had a Kyoto machiya-like feel, giving the area a different character from the wide road in front of the station.

A night alley near Omiya Station, with a lit entrance and a bicycle by the wall

The alleys had a mixture of open businesses and closed shops. It felt less like a tourist street and more like a local night district.

A covered shopping arcade near Omiya Station, with blue-white lights and shuttered shops

From Shijo-dori, where Omiya Station is located, walking northwest along Koin-dori for about one kilometer brings you to Sanjo-dori. There is a covered shopping arcade there. The lights were bright, but there were few people, and many shutters were down. Kyoto is often imagined as crowded everywhere with overseas visitors, but once you step away from the major sightseeing areas, it can become very quiet.

A quiet covered arcade stretching into the distance, with closed shops on both sides

The arcade grows quieter the farther in you walk. Even this close to central Kyoto, the night atmosphere resembles that of a local station-front shopping street.

Seasonal illumination inside the arcade, including a red heart-shaped decoration

In one section of the arcade, seasonal illumination was still glowing. With so few people around, the red lights stood out sharply.

The end of the arcade, with the lights of Horikawa-dori visible ahead

Leaving the arcade, the lights of Horikawa-dori come back into view. The contrast between the traffic on the main road and the quietness of the arcade was memorable.

A night street leading back toward the main road, with bicycles and shop signs along the way

The route back toward the station was also fairly quiet. For a place within Kyoto City, the station area felt surprisingly subdued at night.

A street under construction at night, with traffic cones and a small lit shop along the sidewalk

One street was under construction, with traffic cones lined up along the sidewalk. The small shop lights and the temporary roadwork equipment made a very ordinary but specific night scene.

Randen Shijo-Omiya Station at night, with people crossing in front of the station entrance

Finally, I returned to Randen Shijo-Omiya Station. With the underground Hankyu station and the street-level Randen station close together, Shijo-Omiya is one of the useful gateways toward the Arashiyama area. At night, though, it felt less like a tourist gateway and more like a quiet transfer point with a little room to breathe.