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The new Kyoto Station building was built on the occasion of the 1.200th anniversary of the Heian Capital foundation. It was opened to the public in 1997. A department store, hotel, theater, game center, shopping mall, government offices, various restaurants and an observation deck can be found on the facility's 15+ floors.
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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 | |
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Kyoto Station (京都駅 - Kyōto-eki) is the most important transportation hub in Kyoto, Japan. It has Japan's second-largest train station building (after Nagoya Station) and is one of the country's largest buildings, incorporating a shopping mall, hotel, movie theater, Isetan department store, and several local government facilities under one 15-story roof. It also housed the Kyoto City Air Terminal until August 31, 2002.
Lines
Kyoto Station is served by the following railway lines :
- Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central)
* Tōkaidō Shinkansen
- West Japan Railway Company (JR West)
* Tōkaidō Main Line (Biwako Line and JR Kyoto Line)
* Sanin Main Line (Sagano Line)
* Nara Line
- Kintetsu
* Kyoto Line
- Kyoto Municipal Subway
* Karasuma Line
In addition to the lines above, the following lines, among others, have through services to Kyoto Station:
- JR West
* Kosei Line
* Kusatsu Line
There is one side platform and four island platforms serving eight tracks for the Tōkaidō Line (Biwako Line, JR Kyoto Line) and Kosei Line at ground level, three dead-end platforms serving four tracks for the San'in Line (Sagano Line) to the west of Track 0 at ground level, and two dead-end platforms serving three tracks to the south of Track 7 at ground level. There are two island platforms serving four tracks for the Shinkansen, which are elevated. | | Site's content | |
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