Skyways of Kyōto Eki

The enormity of the engineering challenge necessary to erect Kyōto station is entailed within its giant escalator system, which moves passengers up nine-stories from the 60m high atrium over the main concourse and up to the roof - where there is an expansive view of the city. The structure has a fluidity of space, intriguing discontinuities of scale, open roof lines and a dark futuristic quality. The station building is certainly very imposing and definitively modern in style, setting a stark contrast against the classical feeling of this cultural capital.