Catch the Final Moments of Harajuku Station Closing After 96 Years

Over the weekend Japan Railways officially closed the Harajuku Station we have known since 1924 to a crowd that helped bid farewell to the oldest wooden station in Tokyo. The station that serviced the Yamanote Line was closed with a ceremony which saw its attendants in full uniform lining up at the building’s entrance calling out “Thank you very much for these last 96 years” in Japanese and bowing while the gates came down for the last time.

After 96 years and surviving the firebombing of Tokyo during World War II, the building was closed to make way for a rebuilt station that opened just three hours after the official closure. No longer meeting Tokyo’s fire safety codes, JR announced plans for the rebuild as the Harajuku neighborhood has gone through waves of modernization in the last few decades.

Located directly beside its predecessor, the new station features four times as much floor spaces and has exits for Omotesando, Takeshita dori and towards the Meiji Shrine, along with a dual-platform layout, more elevators and handicapped restroom stalls to deal with the crowds of people that will be using the new station.

Catch the final moments of Harajuku Station and the opening of the new station for the district below.

原宿駅
さよなら木造校舎。
96年間おつかれさま！ pic.twitter.com/0HkvhDTsYk

— mitame (@mitame_language) March 20, 2020

東京オリンピック・パラリンピックに向けて建設が進められていたＪＲ山手線・原宿駅の新しい駅舎が完成し、21日から利用が始まりました。一方、都内で最も古い木造駅舎として親しまれた建物は役割を終え、96年の歴史に幕を下ろしました。https://t.co/gsQBtP8bKR#nhk_video pic.twitter.com/Ct7DBS9Rgs

— NHKニュース (@nhk_news) March 21, 2020

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