京都タワーKyoto Tower is an observation tower located just across the from the north side of Kyoto Station.
It is the tallest structure in the city: the observation deck is 100 meters (328 feett) high and the spire measures in at 131 meters (430 feet).
The Tower was built in the early 1960s and opened in 1964 to coincide with the Tokyo Olympics.
Dating to 1868 - the year the Emperor moved from Kyoto to Tokyo - or earlier Kyoto has long suffered a Tokyo Complex. Thus, when Tokyo built its Tokyo Tower, the great minds in Kyoto decided they too had to have one to keep up and not appear backward.
The city's residents were overwhelmingly opposed to the construction of the tower, a massive white phallic slab of concrete that Alex Kerr has called a "stake through the heart" of the ancient city.
But, like so many other boondoggles, the project went ahead and stands today as a "symbol" of the city.
In a city of temples and hills, rivers and old machiya homes, a more out of place structure would have been hard to conceive.
However, it is a must-see for the thousands of junior high school students who flood the city on their annual tour.
The trinket shop on the first floor is always mobbed.
© CycleKyoto.com
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