KYOTO STATION

Kyoto Station (京都駅, Kyōto-eki) is the most important transportation hub in Kyoto, Japan. Out the front of the Kyoto Station is the main Kyoto bus station where you can catch buses to most parts of Kyoto.

Kyoto Station 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 including the tourist information centre.

Kyoto Station - Train 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

Kyoto Station History

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.

(Content based on Wikipedia article and used under the GNU Free Documentation License)