Japan Railways' Kyoto Station is itself one gigantic piece of art that gets my dander up. This view is from the highest point on the main staircase, looking down. Why didn't they put a roof over the whole thing? Are they trying to tell people to stay away from here on rainy days? Do they even understand what it means to be a public place? It's things like this that turn old cities into new and dull cities. I hope it holds on for a thousand years. Then maybe the people of Kyoto will have reason to be proud of it. In the meantime, I'd suggest that JR think long and hard about the fact that they're using Kyoto's ancient and classical stature to promote it as a travel destination.