Japan Station

Japan Transportation Guide

  • Home
  • Shinkansen network
  • Destinations
  • Maps
  • News
  • Japan Rail Pass Value Calculator

Hankyu’s New “Kyo-Train Garaku” is a Tribute to Old Kyoto’s Elegant Beauty

February 20, 2019

Hankyu Railway are to introduce a companion train to their weekend “Kyo-Train” service which runs between Osaka and central Kyoto. The new sightseeing train is named “Kyo-Train Garaku”, and like the original Kyo-Train, it is designed to give passengers a taste of Kyoto’s special ambience from the moment they step on board. The new train will increase the number of tourist train services on the Hankyu Kyoto Line with each train running alternate hours.

Kyo-Train Garaku will run weekend trips to Kyoto from March 2019

Kyo-Train Garaku will run weekend trips to Kyoto from March 2019

The current Kyo-Train, which has been running since 2011, is well known for its interior design which resembles that of an old-fashioned Kyoto machiya townhouse. The carriage décor employs wood paneling, wood-block printed wallpaper, tatami straw headrests, and washi paper posters to evoke the simple grace and craftsmanship of houses built for Kyoto’s merchant class.

The new train develops this appreciation for Kyoto’s traditional style, but with an added emphasis on refined elegance. The name “Garaku” is actually a newly minted word that combines the Japanese character for “refinement” with an old character for the imperial capital. The meaning is simply “elegant capital” but with a nuance suggestive of Kyoto’s ancient heritage. Whereas the first Kyo-Train reproduced the modest grace of a Kyoto home, Kyo-Train Garaku celebrates the full splendor of Kyoto’s 1,200 year history with motifs and elements lifted from seasonal festivals, temples, shrines and palaces.

The Kyo-Train Garaku emblem

The Kyo-Train Garaku emblem

The Kyo-Train Garaku has six carriages, each with a separate seasonal theme as the basis for six unique exterior and interior designs. Throughout the train the interior seating is decorated with a variety of cloisonné style flower patterns.

Carriage one is decorated with maple leaves

Carriage one is decorated with maple leaves

The first carriage is inspired by autumn, with maple leaves on the outside, and an interior motif of fall foliage floating on water.

The interior of carriage 2. Both carriage 2 and 5 have their own interior gardens

The interior of carriage 2. Both carriage 2 and 5 have their own interior gardens

The second carriage represents austere winter beauty, with a bamboo design on the outside, an interior rock garden, and special “snow-viewing windows” which are glass below and translucent shoji paper on top. The gentle beauty of a Kyoto spring is represented in the third carriage with a scattering of sakura petals both inside and out.

The interior of carriage 3. Carriages 3 and 4 have seats facing large windows so that passengers can enjoy an uninterrupted view of the Nishiyama mountain range.

The interior of carriage 3. Carriages 3 and 4 have seats facing large windows so that passengers can enjoy an uninterrupted view of the Nishiyama mountain range.

The annual Aoi Festival is suggested by the hollyhocks on the fourth carriage’s exterior, and the irises on the inside are a beloved feature of Kyoto’s early summer. The fifth carriage depicts early autumn with waving susuki pampas grass bidding goodbye to summer, and the final carriage celebrates New Year and the oncoming spring with plum blossom.

The iris decoration by carriage 4’s window. In the center of every carriage is a large circular window, a feature which is commonly seen in Kyoto’s temples and shrines.

The iris decoration by carriage 4’s window. In the center of every carriage is a large circular window, a feature which is commonly seen in Kyoto’s temples and shrines.

For the benefit of international travelers, there will be tourist pamphlets and guide-maps in English, Chinese, and Korean on both versions of the Kyo-Train, and on-board announcements will be given in each language too. Free on-board Wi-Fi is also available, and as a special bonus Kyo-Train Garaku passengers can access a special “Garaku View” Wi-Fi service that will enable them to see the real-time view from the driver’s seat on their smart phones or computers.

The Garaku View service is available in English and Japanese

The Garaku View service is available in English and Japanese

The Schedule & Fare

The Kyo-Train Garaku is scheduled to begin weekend service operations between Hankyu Umeda Station in Osaka and Kawaramachi Station in Kyoto in March 2019. The new train will run alternate hours with the original Kyo-Train and together the two trains will run seven return services each day. Please note that these trains run only on weekends and public holidays. The services times are as follows:

Times 9.32 10.32 11.32 12.32 13.32 14.32 15.32
Trains from Umeda Kyo-Train
Garaku
Kyo-Train Kyo-Train Garaku Kyo-Train Kyo-Train Garaku Kyo-Train Kyo-Train Garaku
Times 10.41 11.41 12.41 13.41 14.41 15.41 16.41
Trains from
Kawaramachi
Kyo-Train Garaku Kyo-Train Kyo-Train Garaku Kyo-Train Kyo-Train Garaku Kyo-Train Kyo-Train Garaku

The Kyo-Train Garaku will stop at Umeda, Juso, Awaji, Katsura, Karasuma, and Kawaramachi. Passengers who wish to travel on to Arashiyama should transfer at Katsura Station. Passengers should also note that the original Kyo-Train does not stop at Juso.

The journey time between Umeda and Kawaramachi is under 45 minutes and the full fare for the trip on either train is just 400 yen. As this is the same as the regular fare for services on this line this is quite a bargain.

For a look inside the original machiya-style Kyo-Train check our previous article: Hankyu Railway’s “Kyo-Train” Mimics Kyoto Townhouse Interior Style

Article by Michael Lambe. All rights reserved.

Questions? Ask on our forum

Japan Station NavigationJapan Station Navigation
Station Navigation
  • Shinkansen high-speed trains
  • The Japan Rail Pass
  • Japan Rail Pass Value Calculator
  • Destinations
  • Narita Express
  • IC Prepaid Transport Cards
  • Car Rental in Japan
  • Air Travel in Japan
  • Guide to Rail Travel in Japan
Guide to Rail Travel in Japan by JapanStation.com

Japan Hotel
Deals of the Day

Loading search box ...
Japan Station Hotel

Book Online

  •   Flights to Japan
  •   Hotels in Japan
  •   Car Rental
  •   Tours & Activities in Japan
  •   Asakusa Station
  •   Hakata Station
  •   Kanazawa Station
  •   Kobe Station
  •   Kyoto Station
  •   Nagoya Station
  •   Nara Station
  •   Niseko Station
  •   Osaka Station
  •   Sapporo Station
  •   Shibuya Station
  •   Shinagawa Station
  •   Shinjuku Station
  •   Ueno Station
  •   Yokohama Station

Japan Station on Instagram

Trainspotting at Shinjuku Station in Tokyo. Day an Trainspotting at Shinjuku Station in Tokyo. Day and night, it’s always fascinating to watch trains arrive and depart every few minutes at the busiest train station in the world.
Nankai Limited Express Rapi:t running between Osak Nankai Limited Express Rapi:t running between Osaka Namba and Osaka Kansai Airport is in Visit Malaysia promo wrap this week.
Before digital departure boards and apps, Japan’ Before digital departure boards and apps, Japan’s busiest train stations ran like this👇

A worker at Ueno Station manually updates the departure board, listing express trains to Niigata, Kanazawa, and more.

Every train, every minute, updated by hand.
It never gets old. Watching a Shinkansen train gli It never gets old. Watching a Shinkansen train glide into the station feels like seeing the future arrive right before your eyes. The green trains on the Tohoku and Hokkaido lines are always a sight to behold.
Aomori Railway’s 11 Cats train. Based on the bel Aomori Railway’s 11 Cats train. Based on the beloved Japanese children’s book series “11 Piki no Neko” (“11 Cats”) by Noboru Baba. The author’s hometown, Sannohe in Aomori Prefecture, proudly celebrates the cats as a local symbol.
Platform 4 at Otaru Station is popularly known as Platform 4 at Otaru Station is popularly known as “Yujiro Platform” because JR Hokkaido dedicated it in 2003 to film star and singer Yujiro Ishihara, who spent part of his childhood in Otaru and shot a 1978 television scene on this very spot. 

A life-size panel of Ishihara now stands at the northern end, turning the otherwise working platform into a small photo stop for fans and visitors. 

The structure still displays much of its original 1903 steelwork—one column even bears a “BV & Co Ltd 1902” casting mark—so the tribute sits within a platform that is itself part of a registered National Tangible Cultural Property, neatly linking local pop-culture nostalgia with the station’s early-20th-century railway heritage.

About Us

  • Japan Station on Facebook
  • Japan Station on Twitter
  • Japan Station on Instagram
  • Japan Station on Pinterest
  • Japan Station Forum

Copyright © 2025 · Japan Station. Netmobius publication. All rights reserved. | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Contact