| Histoire |  |
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The first Kyoto Station opened for service by decree of Emperor Meiji on February 5, 1877. It was replaced by a newer, Renaissance-inspired facility in 1914, which featured a broad square leading from the station to Shichijo Avenue. Before and during World War II, the square was often used by imperial motorcades when Emperor Showa traveled between Kyoto and Tokyo: the image of Kyoto Station with its giant Rising Sun flags became a well-known image of the imperial era. This station burned to the ground in 1950 and was replaced by a more utilitarian concrete facility in 1952.
The current Kyoto Station opened in 1997, commemorating Kyoto's 1,200th anniversary. It is 70 meters high and 470 meters from east to west, with a total floor area of 238,000 square meters. Architecturally, it exhibits many characteristics of futurism, with a slightly irregular cubic facade of plate glass over a steel frame. The architect was Hiroshi Hara.
Kyoto, one of the least modern cities in Japan by virtue of its many cultural heritage sites, was largely reluctant to accept such an ambitious structure in the mid-1990s: The station's completion began a wave of new high-rise developments in the city that culminated with the 20-story Kyocera Building. For this, there are opinions criticizing the station design for taking part in breaking down the traditional cityscape.
Aside from the main building on the north side of the station, the Hachijō-guchi building on the south side was built to house Tōkaidō Shinkansen which started operation in 1964. The underground facilities of the station, including the shopping mall Porta beneath the station square, was constructed when the subway opened in 1981. |
| Description | |
La gare, qui est devenue l'un des "monuments" les plus visité de la ville, se présente sous la forme d'un V très évasé. L'aile gauche abrite un hôtel de luxe de 539 chambres et une salle de spectacles de 900 places. Celle de droite, traversée par un escalier mécanique vertigineux conduisant au jardin suspendu, héberge le grand magasin Isetan d'un coté, un centre commercial et des bureaux, de l'autre.
L'architecte, qui s'est inspiré de la structure en damier héritée des villes chinoises du VIIème siècle qui caractérise les rues du vieux Kyôto, n'a pas fait d'autres concessions à la tradition.
A l'issue du premier mois d'exploitation de la gare, la société JR West Japan a enregistré une augmentation de 26% du trafic passager par rapport à la période précédant l'ouverture.
Plus de 240.000 personnes empruntent chaque jour la gare. Le grand magasin Isetan accueille 125.000 personnes par jour et réalise un chiffre d'affaires quotidien d'environ 1.5 millions d'euros. |
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