Tokyo station celebrates the 100th anniversary.

 Tokyo station is situated at the heart of capital Tokyo with its Marunouchi-side leading to the carriage-drive way for the Imperial Palace, formerly known as “Edo castle”. The restored red-brick building on the Marunouchi side of the station is around 35 meters high with modest three stories above and two under the ground, stretching 335 meters along a north-south axis. With more than 4,000 trains coming and going every day, there are 14 railroad lines originating at Tokyo station, including the Tokaido and Tohoku Shinkansen Bullet Trains. From here you can go almost anywhere in Japan as you want. 

      

 The station also provides tourists with the preserved classical style hotel which can accommodate 150 guests and with the huge shopping mall of total 220 shops on its 1st floor and basements, including many take-outs which sell about 170 of varieties of “Eki-ben” coming from various parts of Japan for your lunch, dinner or breakfast on your train seat.

       


 But that's not all that it has to offer. Before you rush through a ticket gate for a platform, take a glance up, for example, to the ceiling of the South Dome at Marunouchi-side. You will notice its unique cathedral-like dome look of octagonal shape, which was designed by the first Japanese architecture, Dr. Kingo Tatsuno, a century ago. One of his masterpiece, Tokyo station building was burnt down by the U.S. air force raid during the world war 2, but in 2012 it was restored to its original style after a five-year renovation effort. The building is not just a convenient and modernized facility for transportation, but it also presents itself as an historical monument which remind us of the old Meiji era's spirit when Japanese had kicked off toward the modernization after 300 years national seclusion.

     

 On Dec.20 2014 last Saturday, Tokyo station celebrated the 100th anniversary of the opening. The station was so crowded and I saw a lot of people flocking to buy various items as souvenirs like the specially designed Suica prepaid IC cards to commemorate this event. I'm completely indifferent toward such souvenirs, but in a sense it shows that many people love and be proud of this historical building. I felt like exploring more about this historic and cultural heritage of Japan, which stands with dignity amid a bunch of tall contemporary commercial buildings surrounding it.

(to be continued)