Tokyo Station remade…to how it was

The iconic 東京駅 (Tokyo Station) near the 皇居 (Japanese Imperial Palace) was built in 1914 but it was destroyed in the World War II Allied bombings of Tokyo in the 1940’s.

After the war, it was rebuilt similarly, but not exactly the same, as it originally was.
One main difference was the fancy glass domes on top of the original station building were replaced with a simpler design.

This is how Tokyo Station looked when I came to Japan.

Tokyo Station will be 100 years old in 2014. So, the government decided, a few years ago, to redesign the station back to how it looked when it was originally built.

The renovations were completed on schedule and the renovated (retro) Tokyo Station had it’s grand re-opening yesterday (2012 October 1st (which was 都民の日 (Tokyo Residents Day)).

This is how Tokyo Station looks now…like it looked 100 years ago.

Just like all grand openings, the stores and restaurants in the station had specials and sales for the occasions…so of course, the station was crowded yesterday with people who wanted to take advantage of the specials and also wanted to see the newly designed station.

第一次世界大戦

Yesterday was “Veterans Day” in America. The day to remember those who died defending their country.

November 11 is the date of the holiday because 第一次世界大戦 (World War One (WW1)) ended at 11:00 A.M. on November 11, 1918.
The eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month…90 years ago yesterday.

More than 40 million people died in the four years of the First World War!
After the war ended, the 国際連盟 (League Of Nations) was started to ensure there would be no more major wars in the world. Obviously it didn’t succeed, and at the end of 第二次世界大戦 (World War Two (WW2)), (usually referred to as 太平洋清掃 (The Pacific War) in Japan), the League Of Nations was replaced by the 国際連合 (United Nations).