We chose to stay in a hotel near the Kyoto Station, as it is the hub of the city’stransportation system of bullet trains, local trains, subways, buses and taxis. We could always find a taxi, and every cabby knew exactly where it was. And then we’re old and don’t want to lug our luggage too far.
One benefit that we didn’t foresee was the Station’s restaurants. In the States, food in airports, rail stations or bus terminals is to be avoided at all costs. Even fast-food joints serve worse food in terminals than they do on the outside, something that I didn’t think possible. Then there are airport prices.
But then, Kyoto Station is much more than a station. It is a destination. It is one of Japan’s largest buildings with a shopping mall, hotel, movie theater, Isetan 
department store, a multitude of restaurants of every level of quality and cost, plazas, sophisticated wine stores, shops selling clothing, confectionery and souvenirs, music venue, a museum, 76 trombones, a hospital, and the central post office, all under one 15-story roof.
The only downside is that the architect who designed the station was scared as a child byFranz Kafka. Each area is a silo that doesn’t communicate with any other silo. You can’t get from here to there without a secret map. I know. I was lost inside its labyrinth for three days before the dogs (akitas of course) found me.
The restaurants in Kyoto Station have many advantages for tourists. Generally, you can find English menus, English speaking waiters, and knives and forks (if needed). The restaurants are often open outside of the normal dinner and lunch times to fit the schedules of travelers.
The best thing about the station’s restaurants is their displays of perfect, plastic food, called shokuhin sampuru “sample foods”. These glass displays line the front of most of the restaurants and are designed to tempt potential customers while showing them what dishes they offer.
Shokuhin sampuru are now common throughout Japan. The modern version was created by Takizo Iwasaki in the 1930s. Iwasaki supposedly created an omelet out of wax that was so detailed it fooled his wife into thinking it was real. Making perfect replicas is not cheap, as a model of a complicated tray of sushi can cost up to $500. Creating plastic foods is now a $90 million business.
Replica food – quite an art!