Hibiya
Hibiya
Station
is an underground station located
in Chiyoda Ward. It serves the Tokyo
Metro Chiyoda and Hibiya Lines and
the Toei Mita Line. Hibiya Station
is connected to the nearby Yurakucho
Station on the Tokyo Metro Yurakucho
Line by underground passageways. It
is possible to connect between the
two stations without going through
the ticket gates, but the JR platforms
at Yurakucho are at a distance from
Hibiya Station and hence require
a second ticket.
Hibiya
is a relatively quiet place
in the very busy area of Marunouchi-Yarakucho-Hibiya-Ginza.
Located on the south-eastern corner
of the Imperial Palace, it is the
center for government offices and
headquarters of several big companies.
Hibiya is also famous for its park
which provides a wonderful place
for recreation and relaxation for
the people of the area.
Places
of Interest:
Takarazuka
Gekijou Theater
The
Tokyo Takarazuka Gekijou Theater
is located just a short walk from
Hibiya Station. This theater belongs
to the Takarazuka Revue Company
and it is one of the places where
they stage their performances.
The
Takarazuka Revue Company was started
in 1914 by Kobayashi Ichizo, the
president of Hankyu Railways Corporation.
His vision was to have an all-female
theatrical group to counter the
all-male kabuki. Kobayashi Ichizo
also noticed that people were now
more attracted to western-style
theater than the traditional Japanese
forms. So in his new theater company,
he combined the new with the old,
creating a completely new from of
theater.
An
all-female company, the Takarazuka
Revue Company consists of 5 troupes
with over 80 members in each. These
troupes are called Hana (Flower),
Tsuki (Moon), Hoshi (Star), Yuki
(Snow), and Sora (Cosmos). Each
troupe has two main performers –
one who plays the male lead and
the other the female lead – and
the rest are the chorus, each member
having a grade number corresponding
to the number of years she has been
in the troupe. Most of the shows
put on by the Takarazuka Revue Company
are beautifully choreographed musicals
that tell romantic stories.
The
Tokyo Takarazuka Gekijou Theater
was built in 1924. It is believed
that the location was chosen to
attract more people to using the
railway line to Takarazuka, a city
famous for its hot springs.
Hibiya
Park
Just
a brief walk from Hibiya Station
is Hibiya Park, the first western-style
park in Tokyo. It is located just
down the road from the Imperial
Palace and across the street from
the luxurious Imperial Hotel. Opened
in 1903, the park is today one of
the most frequented and popular
parks in Tokyo. It also serves as
a place for tired workers from nearby
offices to gather at lunchtime and
relieve themselves from work related
stress.
Hibiya
Park, covering a total land area
of 161,636 square meters, consists
of several sections - three of which
are Japanese-style and the rest
Western-style. A variety of plants
cover these sections, including
plum trees, pines, gingkos, azaleas,
and flowering dogwood. The Western
style gardens feature several fountains.
There are a number of open spaces
throughout the Park where concerts
are held. The Park also has public
tennis courts, coffee shops, restaurants,
a library and a flower shop.
During
the Edo period, Hibiya Park was
the site of daimyo (feudal lord)
mansions. Later during the Meiji
restoration in 1868, the daimyo
went back to the countryside and
the place was turned into a military
parade ground. Finally, in 1903,
it was opened as a park.
