Kwasan Observatory, located on one of the peaks of the "Higashiyama" moutains behind the famous "Kiyomizu temple", had been the main observing station of the institute since its foundation in 1929.

After the construction of Hida Observatory in 1968, Kwasan Observatory has been playing an important role as a research station. With a powerful data analysis system, the observations obtained at Hida observatory are processed and studied to yield new scientific findings. Theoretical work and numerical simulations are performed extensively with the system.

Education is also one of the main roles of the Kwasan Observatory. In addition to under-graduate and graduate students of the University, students from nearby high schools, elementary schools, and other colleges experience astronomy and work with the telescopes and the data.