JR Harajuku Station being demolished after the 2020 Olympics/Paralympics

Originally featured on dennisamith.com:

It’s an announcement that I feared would be coming, one that I’m not surprised of, but one that I’m saddened to hear.

JR Harajuku Station will be demolished after the 2020 Olympic/Paralympic Games.

There have been talk for years about Japan remodeling Harajuku Station, but if you have been there this year, this is what you see… a new station being built.

This time around, it will be closer to Meiji Jingu and Yoyogi Park, which is a plus. But part of what made JR Harajuku Station so special, was the feeling of when you arrive at Harajuku and see Takeshita Street, it’s one of those sights that you can’t help but be in awe.

Especially if it’s your first time in Harajuku.

May it be day or night, it’s a packed place to be!

And how things are now…

It’s still the same when I first visited Harajuku back in 1999.

The old JR Harajuku Station was like the gateway to Harajuku.

But while for nostalgic reasons, I’ll miss JR Harajuku Station, knowing Japan is a country that likes to rebuild, to grow and be technologically better.

From the creativity that went into Tokyo Skytree, the sanitation concerns and relocation of the fish market to Toyosu and now the planned demolishing of the old JR Harajuku Station because it’s not fire-resistant.

Fires have been the major concern of Japan for centuries and seeing how various locations throughout Japan have burned down, fires spread, it’s a history which Japan wouldn’t want to repeat and so, old buildings are demolished in order to bring in a new building.

I do look forward to the new JR Harajuku Station but at the same time, I’ll always miss the feeling of seeing Takeshita St. when you leave the station and arriving at Harajuku’s crowded st.

While I won’t miss the narrow walkways and crowded part of the station, it will be surreal to arrive at the new Harajuku Station and knowing how much I will miss the nostalgia when the old JR Harajuku Station will no longer be there.

---