Thursday 10 October 2013

Tokyo Night Walk: Marunouchi Entrance of Tokyo Station

EMU JR East E233 series stands at Tokyo Terminal on the Chuo Line
 
As I mentioned before, JR East completed the renovation work on the Marunouchi Entrance Building of Tokyo Station last October. The red brick masonry of the building has been brought back. The Marunouchi Entrance Building was opened in 1914 as a main building of the central station in the Tokyo Metropolis. Since it had aged, renovation work was started in 2007.

Look at the following photo. It is a night view of the southern half of the Marunouchi Entrance Building. A red-colored brick building is beautifully lit up by illuminations. You can see an elegant dome, which was restored to be the same as it was when it opened. As you may know, this building was severely destroyed by an air strike in 1945. Although it was repaired after WWII, the design of the roof was changed, because it was a stop-gap measure.

In the meantime, the top photo shows the EMU JR East E233 series, standing at Tokyo station on the Chuo Line. The E233 series is a train for my "everyday use" to go to the office. As a commuter, I also use this platform everyday. It is located just behind the Marunouchi Entrance Building so it is very convenient for me to get on the train. The problem is that the platform is located at a high place, as the Chuo Line is on an elevated track. It takes 1 minute 26 seconds to reach the platform on an escalator.

 
Night view of Marunouchi Entrance Building in Tokyo Station