The golden escalator hidden at a Tokyo train station
“Celebrity escalator” looks set to become one of the most Instagrammable spots in the city.
Our reporter Masanuki Sunakoma is the type to always arrive early for a meet-up, so when he was due to meet a friend at Tokyo’s Otemachi Station at 11:00 a.m., he does what he always does, arriving 50 minutes beforehand, at 10:10 a.m.
Masanuki says he likes to use this extra time to grab a coffee or wander around, and it paid off at Otemachi Station, because that’s where his wandering took him to Japan’s longest underground passageway, stretching four kilometres (2.5 miles) to Higashi-Ginza Station, where he discovered a mysterious golden escalator.
▼ The “celebrity escalator”, as Masanuki now calls it, is located at Otemachi First Square, an office building directly connected to the C8, C11, and C12 exits of Otemachi Station.
The golden glow of the escalator beckoned to Masanuki, who had never seen anything like it before. He was used to travelling between floors surrounded by silver-coloured metal, so this gold-coloured moving staircase looked like something you’d find in a high-end luxury hotel in the Middle East.
Seeing this as a sign of good fortune, Masanuki immediately stepped on to the escalator, hoping it would elevate him to riches.
In reality, the escalator would lead him from the shops and restaurants on the first basement level to the light of the first floor above ground, but somehow the experience of it made Masanuki feel…golden.
It was an escalator worthy of a celebrity, and the effect rubbed off on Masanuki, who felt as if he too was shining with gold, becoming purified by its dazzling reflections as he stepped out into the light at the top.
Masanuki felt certain that a ride on this golden escalator would increase your luck levels, so he took another ride on the one next to it, returning to his original route to meet his friend.
▼ The descent was even more dazzling, as the reflections of gold on the walls and pillar became more intense.
Masanuki doesn’t like to use filters on his photos to bump up hues and saturation levels, but those that do will be able to get some stunning shots here for Instagram that’ll have everyone asking you for details of this secret location.
▼ This video shows the golden hues a little more clearly.
Masanuki’s photos don’t do justice to how great the site looks in real life, so you’ll want to see it for yourself to really soak up the golden atmosphere. And if you want to snap some photos for the ‘Gram, it’s best to go around the time Masanuki did, as the area becomes busy from around 11:00 a.m., when most of the restaurants on the basement floor open.
If you do visit the site be sure to tag us so we can see your photos! And there are more discoveries to be made at the newly revamped Ginza Station.
Site information
Otemachi First Square / 大手町ファーストスクエア
Address: Tokyo-to, Chiyoda-ku, Otemachi 1-5-1 Taito-ku Kojima 2-1-3 (directly connected to exits C8, C11, and C12 of Otemachi Station)
東京都千代田区大手町1丁目5-1 （大手町駅C8、C11、C12出口直結）
Website
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