Kyoto Tower Audio Guide

Kyoto Tower: what does the audio guide cover?

1. 01

   Welcome to Kyoto Tower

   Step out of Kyoto Station through the north side, the Karasuma exit, and look up. Kyoto Tower, written 京都タワー in Japanese, stands right across from you. It is now officially called Nidec Kyoto Tower, but most people simply say Kyoto Tower. This is the tallest structure in the whole city. Its spire reaches 131 meters, and its observation deck sits at 100 meters. That is remarkable in a city famous for ancient temples, shrines and low wooden rooftops. Very few buildings here dare to rise above the gentle skyline, and this one does it with a needle-shaped spire and a decidedly space-age attitude. Over the next few minutes we will look at why this tower was built, how it was engineered, and why it caused so much argument before it became a beloved part of Kyoto's evening sky. Keep your eyes up as you listen. The tower is a very easy landmark to find from the station forecourt.

2. 02

   A Post Office, an Olympics and a Bold Idea

   Every story about Kyoto Tower begins with its location. The site directly across from the railway station was once home to Kyoto's central post office. For years it had been marked out for something worthy of such a prominent spot in a city of Kyoto's cultural standing. The idea took shape in the early 1960s, and the plan was to finish it in time for the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Japan saw that moment as a chance to reintroduce itself to the world, not only as a peaceful and dependable industrial nation but also as a home of cutting-edge design. Construction began in 1963 on the former post office site and was completed near the end of 1964. So as you stand here, you are looking at a piece of that postwar spirit of renewal, rising in the same era as the Tokyo Olympics and the launch of the Shinkansen bullet train.

3. 03

   Steel Rings and a Candle-Like Form

   Now let's look at how Kyoto Tower is built, because it does something quite different from many famous towers. Tokyo Tower, for example, is made of a metal lattice frame. Kyoto Tower's interior is made of many steel rings stacked on top of one another. Over that structure goes a skin of lightweight steel sheets, between 12 and 22 millimeters thick. The result is a slender, smooth silhouette often described as candle-like. A popular reading says the shape was inspired by a candle flame, symbolizing hope and illumination. The tower's height and design were weighed carefully against Kyoto's strict preservation concerns, and the slim form contrasts with the low-rise cityscape of wood and tile around it. Walk around the base and compare that smooth needle with the rooflines nearby. The contrast is exactly what makes this landmark so striking.

4. 04

   The Controversy That Became Affection

   Kyoto Tower was controversial from the moment it was planned. Some people objected to the cost, which was 380 million yen, equal to about 1.056 million dollars in 1963. Others believed the needle-shaped spire looked far too modern for the ancient capital. Then time did its quiet work. Writers have compared the tower and the city to a parent and child whose seemingly irreconcilable differences gradually softened into understanding, and eventually into a certain resemblance. The tower's red and blue neon glow has blended into the colors of Kyoto's night sky, and this beacon of the twentieth century now looks increasingly at home among its ancient surroundings. It also became part of daily life. Dining and unwinding high above the traditions of the city, once a far-fetched idea, is now normal, and visitors from around the world come to enjoy it. From the observation deck at 100 meters, you can look out over the cultural heartland of Japan from above.

5. 05

   Before You Head Off from Kyoto Tower

   Kyoto Tower is a landmark that asks a simple question: how does an ancient city welcome the modern world? Kyoto's answer, after years of debate, was to let the tower stay and let time make it part of the scenery. Before you leave the area, take a moment to look at the tower from the station side, then think about the low rooftops around it. If you go up to the observation deck, try to spot how the city spreads out below, and notice how different the horizon feels from up there. Then ask yourself whether the tower still looks like an intruder, or whether it has become a kind of lighthouse in the middle of Kyoto. Your answer may change depending on whether you see it by daylight or glowing at night.