Inaugurated in 1914, the Tokyo Station was designed by the famous architect Tatsuno Kingo and at the time was servicing only two train lines. Unfortunately, most of the building was destroyed by the bombings from 1945 and the reconstruction was less spectacular than the original: the glass domes were rebuilt with just two floors instead of three and with a simpler shape.

But the building is currently being renovated and the new look will be similar to the original appearance, like in this diorama from the Railway Museum from Saitama.

An interesting fact drew my attention recently: the tiles prepared for the dome roof were stored in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture and the warehouse was destroyed by the March 11 tsunami… But after the disaster, the employees worked to collect the tiles one by one and they managed to recover over 40000 pieces, which were already sent to Tokyo Station. They will be used as a symbol of the recovery power of the Japanese people.

Tokyo Station’s original appearance, diorama from the Railway Museum, Saitama

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Yesterday’s Japan Photo: The story of the Sleeping Neko