Looking good at almost 100

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First-time visitors to Tokyo often ask where the centre of Tokyo is. Answers vary according to the person who you are talking to but the plain fact is that there is no one true centre for this sprawling metropolis. However, if you were to go back around 100 years, there was one station that represented the centre of the city in many ways: Tokyo Station.



One of reconstructed domes atop Tokyo Station brings style and panache to the whole area

Currently surrounded by shiny high-rise buildings and hundreds upon hundreds of companies, Tokyo Station’s roots go back to 1914. The station first opened with four platforms, two of which served electric trains and two served non-electric trains. However, it was the station’s iconic three-storey red-brick building housing two domes designed by leading Japanese architect Kingo Tatsuno that impressed people most at the time. Rumoured (falsely) to have been modelled on Amsterdam’s main station, the building – 335 metres in length, 20 metres in width and 45 metres in height – was for the time an ultra-modern construction that way ahead of anything else that existed at that time in Japan.

On October 1, 2012, the newly refurbished Marunouchi side of the building re-opened after 5 years of restoration work. Many parts of this landmark have been restored to their former glory. In particular, the domes that were destroyed in World War II have been completely brought back to life from the outside and the inside where zodiac symbols adorn beautifully decorative ornate plaster.

Many people, both locals and tourists alike, have been marvelling at a feat of architecture that will soon be celebrating its 100^th birthday.

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Taking a break from Tokyo

Few people would associate Tokyo with mountains. However, after just an hour’s train ride heading west out of Tokyo and you will find yourself in a lusciously green mountainous area. Welcome to Mount Takao. Visited by over 2.5 million people a year, this is not much of a secret to Tokyoites, many of whom take day trips to the area.

At 599 metres the mountain is relatively petite for Japan but it has nevertheless been seen as sacred for more than a millennium. In the autumn the whole area breaks out in a cacophony of spectacularly gorgeous red and yellow leaves that bring so many people here. But it is worth taking the train trip if you just want to go to a slightly higher ground to escape Tokyo’s blistering summer heat.

Alighting from Takao station, you have different options for reaching the mountain’s summit. Either take the cable car and then walk for about half an hour, or hike up the several different hiking trails that exist. Each trail has it own points of interest but perhaps one of the most enjoyable is trail number 6 that takes you to the Biwa Waterfall where on the first Saturday of each month you can see hard-core Buddhists pray while sitting under the waterfall as part of their ascetic training. But beware for this happens to be one of the most inclined trains to the peak.

Japanese temple lovers will be delighted to learn that nearby exists the Yakuo-in temple. Consisting of a series of smaller temples, this 8^th-century complex is dedicated to Yakushi Nyorai, the Buddha of medicine and healing. You will see many people coming here to pray for their good health.

To get to Mount Takao, take the JR Chuo line from Shinjuku to Takao Station and then change to the Keio line one more stop to Takao-san Guchi station. On the express, the trip is less than an hour.  From Takao-san Guchi, it’s only about a 5-minute walk to the cable car, the chair lift and the trails.

Unique Japan Tours is happy to help you find accommodation if you want to stay overnight in the area.

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