Kyoto Station seems like more of a self-contained town than a mere
railway station, housing as it does glamorous hotels, government
offices, department stores, shops and dozens of really quite good
restaurants. Indeed, apart from the actual platforms, it feels
more like the Starship Enterprise, or at least a hotel lobby or an
airport than what we in England have grown accustomed to in dirty
old, tatty buildings and windswept platforms.
It reinforces the transport hub as a natural
focus of activity, helping to reduce the need for private transport
to access such facilities. |