Kyoto Arashiyama is named after arashi (storm) from Mt. Atago which beautifully blows cherry blossoms and maple leaves. Randen Arashiyama Station is located in central of Arashiyama and in opposite of Tenryuji-temple which is registered on the World Heritage List. We have made a soft, cozy and elegant lighting forest in such a special station with approx. 600 poles rapped with Kyoto Yuzen kimono fabrics. This lighting forest is a part of hospitality for both locals and visitors so that they will feel excited with special time’s start from the station.
We are inspired by a bamboo forest in this area. There is a path in the middle of the forest and you will feel at peace when you walk through the path while bamboos have rhythm and dynamism as if they were designed in principle of Japanese art. So we tried to apply this feeling to the platform to be loved by everyone. Instead of bamboos, we used poles with Yusen kimono cloth dyed by hand and they show different expression at night with LED lightings inside. People love this beautiful scenery at night; we have succeeded to invite people at night to Arashiyama area and helped a lot to keep the community alive.
Everyday commuters use this railway station to go to office or school so we have to keep the function but had to create something new. Because the platform is outside, we had to think of drainage too. Arashiyama area in Kyoto has strong historical cultural backgrounds and has strict regulation for signatures, colors, heights and so on to preserve scenic beauty. To clear all issues step by step, it took 3 years.
Principal designer Yasumichi Morita, Designer Takuma Inoue and Drafter Hitoshi Takamura
