Kyoto Station
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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.
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[edit] History
The first Kyoto Station opened for service by decree of Emperor Meiji in 1878. 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 1952 and was replaced by a more utilitarian concrete facility by the following March.
The current Kyoto Station opened in 1997, commemorating Kyoto's 1,200-year 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.
[edit] Lines
Kyoto Station is served by the following railway lines:
In addition to the proper lines above, the following lines, among others, have through services to Kyoto Station:
- West Japan Railway
[edit] Train Platforms
[edit] JR
| 0 | ■Hokuriku Line Limited Express "Raichō", "Thunderbird" | for Fukui, Kanazawa, Toyama |
| ■Tōkaidō Line Limited Express "Shinano", "Hida" | for Nagano, Takayama | |
| ■Sleeper Limited Express "Nihonkai", "Twilight Express | for Aomori, Sapporo | |
| ■Sleeper Express "Ginga", "Kitaguni" | for Niigata, Tokyo | |
| ■Tōkaidō Line Limited Express "Biwako Express", "Haruka" | for Kusatsu, Maibara | |
| 2 | ■Biwako Line | for Kusatsu, Maibara, Nagahama, Tsuruga (Some trains depart from track 0 or 3.) |
| 3 | ■Kosei Line | for Katata, Ōmi-Imazu (Some trains depart from track 0 or 2.) |
| 4 | ■JR Kyoto Line (mainly local trains) | for Shin-Osaka, Osaka, Sannomiya, Nishi-Akashi (Some trains depart from track 6.) |
| 5 | ■JR Kyoto Line (mainly Special Rapid Service and Rapid Service) | for Shin-Osaka, Osaka, Sannomiya, Himeji (Some trains depart from track 6.) |
| 6, 7 | ■Kinokuni Line Limited Express "Kuroshio", "Ocean Arrow" | for Wakayama, Shirahama, Shingu |
| ■Limited Express "Super Hakuto" | for Tottori, Kurayoshi | |
| ■Sleeper Limited Express "Naha", "Akatsuki" | for Kumamoto, Nagasaki | |
| ■Limited Express (from Hokuriku Line, Tōkaidō Line) | for Osaka | |
| 8, 9, 10 | ■Nara Line | for Uji, Jōyō, Nara |
| 30 | ■Kansai Airport Limited Express "Haruka" | for Kansai International Airport (Some trains depart from track 6 or 7.) |
| 31 | ■Sanin Line Limited Express "Kinosaki", "Hashidate", "Tamba", "Maizuru", "Tango Discovery" | for Fukuchiyama, Kinosaki-Onsen, Amanohashidate, Higashi-Maizuru, Kurihama (Some trains depart from track 30.) |
| ■Sagano Line | for Kameoka, Sonobe, Fukuchiyama (local trains) | |
| 32, 33 | ■Sagano Line | for Kameoka, Sonobe, Fukuchiyama (Rapid Service and local trains) |
| 34 | ■Get-off only | |
| 11, 12 | ■Tōkaidō Shinkansen | for Nagoya, Tokyo |
| 13, 14 | ■Tōkaidō Shinkansen | for Shin-Osaka, Hiroshima, Hakata |
[edit] Kintetsu
| 1 | Limited Express trains | for Yamato-Saidaiji, Nara, Kashiharajingu-mae, Kashikojima |
| 2, 3 | Local and Express trains |
[edit] Kyoto Subway
The station number is K11.
| 1 | ■Southbound trains | for Takeda, Shin-Tanabe |
| 2 | ■Northbound trains | for Kokusaikaikan |
[edit] Adjacent Stations
Tokyo - Shinagawa - Shin-Yokohama - Odawara - Atami - Mishima - Shin-Fuji - Shizuoka - Kakegawa - Hamamatsu - Toyohashi - Mikawa-Anjo - Nagoya - Gifu-Hashima - Maibara - Kyoto - Shin-Ōsaka
Kyoto – Nishiōji – Mukōmachi – Nagaokakyō – Yamazaki – Takatsuki – Settsu-Tonda – Ibaraki – Senrioka – Kishibe – Suita – Higashi-Yodogawa – Shin-Osaka – Osaka
Kyoto – Yamashina – Nishi-Ōtsu – Karasaki – Hieizan-Sakamoto – Ogoto – Katata – Ono – Wani – Hōrai – Shiga – Hira – Ōmi-Maiko – Kita-Komatsu – Ōmi-Takashima – Adogawa – Shin-Asahi – Ōmi-Imazu – Ōmi-Nakashō – Makino – Nagahara – Ōmi-Shiotsu
Kyoto – Tambaguchi – Nijō – Emmachi – Hanazono – Uzumasa – Saga-Arashiyama – Hozukyō – Umahori – Kameoka – Namikawa – Chiyokawa – Yagi – Yoshitomi – Sonobe
Kyoto – Tōji – Jūjō – Kamitobaguchi – Takeda – Fushimi – Tambabashi – Momoyama-Goryōmae – Mukaijima – Ogura – Iseda – Ōkubo – Kutsukawa – Terada – Tonoshō – Shin-Tanabe – Kōdo – Miyamaki – Miyazu – Komada – Shin-Hōsono – Kizugawadai – Yamadagawa – Takanohara – Heijō - Yamato-Saidaiji
Kokusai Kaikan - Matsugasaki - Kitayama - Kitaōji - Kuramaguchi - Imadegawa - Marutamachi - Karasuma Oike - Shijō - Gojō - Kyoto - Kujō - Jūjō - Kuinabashi - Takeda (through service on Kintetsu Kyoto Line to Nara)
[edit] External links
