|
In the early years of Meiji, the building of the Railway in the Kyoto-Hanshin area advanced towards Osaka. In 1876, the railway between Osaka and Kyoto opened along with the Omiya station. In 1877, a Western style red brick building was opened as Shichijo Station, which would later become Kyoto Station. There were three tracks - an underground, a surface, and a freight track - with six round trips daily. In 1889, all the lines of the Tokai Railway were opened and with time and distance shortened, the number of travellers and cargo quickly increased. With the enthronement ceremony the Taisho emperor three years earlier, a new and improved Kyoto Station was reconstructed and completed in 1914 and the area around the station was enlarged. At the time, it boasted the largest scale train station in Japan. In 1950, it was completely destroyed by fire and rebuilt together with a department store catered to tourists in 1952. In 1964, with the opening of the Tokaido Shinkansen line, an entrance was created on the Hachijo side. Also along side the station is the main station for the Kyoto line of the Kinki Nihon Railway and the mid-station for the subway Karasume line. A new extension of the station is scheduled to open this year. |
Kyoto Station