Photo Friday #5: Kyoto Station! フォト金曜日＃５：京都駅！

フォト金曜日＃５：京都駅！Photo Friday #5: Kyoto Station!

If you're a regular visitor here, you'll notice that I like to discuss how Japan's juxtaposition of old and new makes the country a fascinating place to explore. As a Millennial American, I come from a country that was still adding states to its roster after my parents were born, so the fact that Japan's oldest companies have been in business for more than a millennium is a concept almost too foreign to comprehend.

In previous Photo Friday posts, I've shared some of my photos of Kyoto with you: first, we visited Heian-jingu, a "new" shrine by Japanese standards; then, we explored Kinkaku-ji at Rokuon-ji and learned about its rich history. Although both of these historic sites feature new construction--fires are problematic for wooden structures!--they're still basically indistinguishable from centuries-old shrines and temples. If I only shared photos of Kyoto's traditional architecture, I'd only be doing you a great disservice and furthering stereotypes about the city. With that in mind, here's this week's photo:

京都駅: Kyoto Station

Considering my previous posts, you might think this is a photo of a busy train station in Tokyo, but it's actually a shot of the interior of Kyoto Station (京都駅 or Kyoto-eki), taken in March 2013. Modern and bustling at all hours of the day, this structure stands in stark contrast to how many people, even today, view Kyoto: it's not all temples, teahouses, and geisha.

The first Kyoto Station opened by imperial decree in 1877, and since then has undergone several facelifts and additions, whether out of necessity--as the station was destroyed by fire in 1950--or modernization--as the subway line opened in 1981. Built in honor of the 1,200th anniversary of Kyoto's founding as the capital of Japan, today's Kyoto Station--its fourth iteration, opened in 1997--is a result of a design contest won by Japanese architect and professor Hiroshi Hara. All of the contest entries were modern in design, and as this 1991 article from The New York Times explains, not everyone was happy about it: its detractors claimed that its ultramodern design didn't represent the old soul of the city, but its supporters argued that such a bold look was necessary to keep the city abreast of changing times.

The photo above is a view of Kyoto Station's Karasuma Gate, the north side of the station, as seen from a couple floors up near Cafe du Monde and Mister Donut. It's busier than the Hachijo Gate on the station's south side, and offers lots of things to see: it's home to Porta and The Cube, two underground shopping malls; an 11-story Isetan Department Store (with two underground levels); souvenir shops and convenience stores; hotels and restaurants; a post office; and the city's bus terminal. In the winter months, the station can get quite chilly, especially in this section: it's open to the elements, and even clerks and shopkeepers wear coats inside their stores.

Google Maps version of a typical Kyoto tourist map

For many Kyoto tourists, Kyoto Station sits at the bottom, or south end, of much of where they'll do their sightseeing, as many of Kyoto's temples, shrines, and places of interest lie northward. Indeed, most of the tourist maps provided free of charge in Kyoto show the station as one of the southernmost areas. The map to the left approximates a real-world view of these tourist maps, which are sometimes squished to fit on a certain size paper or pamphlet. I've added markers for a few places I've discussed here on meauxtaku: the yellow marker at the top is Kinkaku-ji, the brown marker to the southeast is Heian Shrine, the red marker southeast of center is Kyoto Station, and the orange marker southeast of Kyoto Station is Fushimi Inari Taisha. To give you an idea of scale, it's just over four miles (as the crow flies) from Kyoto Station to Kinkaku-ji. Between the city buses, subway, and trains operating out of Kyoto Station, reaching any of these places is a breeze.

Despite the controversy of building such a state-of-the-art structure in a city known for its antediluvian architecture and traditions, Kyoto Station provides the perfect place to disembark on a Kyoto journey: its glass and steel facade is the shining face of modern Japan, its innumerable shops and stores a staggering testament to the country's retail culture...but walk a few minutes in any direction and you're sure to stumble upon one of Kyoto's thousands of shrines and temples, transporting you to bygone eras rooted in ancient rituals. History is alive and well in Kyoto, but thanks to structures like Kyoto Station, perhaps no other city in Japan offers such a stark contrast between archaic and futuristic.

Photo Friday #2: Heian Shrine! フォト金曜日＃２：平安神宮！

フォト金曜日＃２：平安神宮！Photo Friday #2: Heian Shrine!

Happy Friday...and happy spring! March 20 is the vernal equinox, bringing with it the promise of warmer weather for the northern hemisphere. For today's Photo Friday post, I'm again looking back to two years ago today, during my first trip to Japan. Two years ago we were in Kyoto, and we spent the first day of spring shrine-hopping:

平安神宮：Heian-jingu (Heian Shrine)

March 20, 2013 was a day much like today: though it was the first day of spring in Kyoto, there was a chill in the air, and the skies were overcast and rainy. After breakfast at Kyoto Station--donuts from MisDo and coffee from Cafe du Monde--we hopped on a city bus and set off to visit Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples.

Shinto is Japan's most enduring religion, and along with Buddhism, it continues to be an important part of Japanese life and culture today. When in Japan, there's no place quite like Kyoto so well-known for its connection to Shinto and Buddhism: one could spend weeks in the city just visiting shrines and temples. They're absolutely everywhere, and they're known the world over. Having seen so many photos and references to Heian Shrine in popular culture (scenes from Lost in Translation and Memoirs of a Geisha come to mind), I knew we had to see it for ourselves.

Heian Shrine in Okazaki, Kyoto wasn't the first Shinto shrine we visited, but it was among the newest: the shrine was actually built in 1895 to commemorate the 1100th anniversary of the founding of Japan's capital Heian (Heian being one of many of Kyoto's former names), and honors the spirits of the first and last emperors to rule Japan from Kyoto. Heian Shrine is a scale model of the original Imperial Palace built in 794, which was destroyed by fire in 1227. Fires were a problem for Kyoto's wooden shrines even into the 20th century, as a 1976 fire destroyed several structures at Heian Shrine. Donations were collected, and the buildings were rebuilt three years later.

I really enjoy this photo I took on the grounds of Heian Shrine, with a little girl playing in the gravel as her parents continued ahead. We enjoyed watching the family perform temizu, the ritual Shinto purification, and wondered what it would be like to be raised in a city steeped in such history and tradition. (To put it into perspective, the American city where I currently live was chosen as the state's capital in 1820 and is looking forward to its bicentennial in 2020, but Kyoto became Japan's capital in 794, and was the Imperial capital of Japan for over 1,000 years!)

The grounds were practically empty that day, as it was a rainy weekday afternoon, so it had an especially serene, spiritual feel. Although I've only visited a fraction of Kyoto's shrines--some say they number close to 2,000!--I would definitely recommend visiting Heian Shrine. Here, you can get a feel of what Imperial life must have been like centuries ago, and as you stroll through its iconic gardens, you'll forget you're in the middle of a major metropolitan city.