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Kyoto Station is a bad place to be in a snowstorm, videos show

Casey Baseel Jan 25, 2023
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The building’s cool design isn’t the best fit for freezing weather.

There’s a lot of cool stuff to see in Kyoto, and it starts the second you get off the train. Kyoto Station is a stylish and modern building, with the full assortment of restaurants and souvenir shops you can expect at major rail hubs in Japan. What makes it especially nice, though, is the gigantic central concourse which lets in fresh air and natural sunlight, making it feel like you’re both inside the station and outdoors at the same time.

Unfortunately, it turns out that Kyoto Station’s unique architectural design isn’t exactly suited to snowstorms.

▼ This is inside the station.

#京都駅 #琵琶湖線 #京都 pic.twitter.com/knqFQ3ntQT

— 生前予約パーティー (@glasphiesleob) January 24, 2023

Japan is experiencing a cold snap right now, and at around 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday snow started falling in Kyoto. It tapered off later in the afternoon, but started again in the evening, and conditions worsened as the night went on.

▼ “It’s snowing inside Kyoto Station.”

京都駅に雪降ってるわ pic.twitter.com/DR6ckosmwa

— kamui.com (@djkamui_com) January 24, 2023

The amount of snow getting dumped on the city wasn’t the only shocking aspect to the weather, either. Fierce winds whipped through Japan’s former capital, and at times the snow wasn’t so much falling as being blasted sideways until it collided with some sort of standing object.

原広司さぁ…京都駅作るときにちょっとは雪のこと考えてくれても良かったんじゃないの？ pic.twitter.com/gO4jElK2Jt

— わかみー (@wakamie17) January 24, 2023

▼ The station’s Mister Donut branch got a slushy redecorating even as it served up those fancy new Toshi Yoroizuka collaboration donuts.

京都駅の大階段下のミスド、ここまで雪積もってて草 pic.twitter.com/HjU516lvOZ

— まろまろ (@maroojimarosan) January 24, 2023

At times when the storm let up and the snowfall became more gentle, it actually looked sort of picturesque, assuming you were observing the scene from somewhere where you yourself were warm, preferably with a nice hot cup of green tea or mug of cocoa in your hands.

京都駅の中雪降ってて笑う pic.twitter.com/nFDgPrrmUU

— かずま (@Kazuma1993FJR) January 24, 2023

But as surreal as it must have been to have to deal with weather inside the station, it was still a lot better than facing the full force of the elements completely outside the building.

こんな京都駅は　初めて pic.twitter.com/RPanlqcHad

— あかいの (@akaroke_924) January 24, 2023

In the station designers’ defense, such intense snowstorms are rare in Kyoto, so it’s understandable that they weren’t a primary concern during the building’s planning. Still, we’re betting that a lot of train commuters are happy that there’s just a single day of light, scattered snow in Kyoto’s forecast for the upcoming week.

Source: Kyoto Shimbun via Jin
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