One of the few buildings in Ginza that survived the bombings of the Second World War was the Hattori Clock Tower, also known as Ginza Wako.
Located at the hearth of Ginza district and owned today by Seiko Holdings Corporation, Ginza Wako is one of the best known luxury stores in Japan.

The Neo-Renaissance styled building was built in 1932 and was designed by the architect Jin Watanabe.

Before 1932, on the same site was located an older Hattori building, built in 1894, a watches and jewelry store, owned by Kintaro Hattori.
An interesting fact, this was the company that in 1913 produced the first watches in Japan under the name Seikosha, which became later the well known Seiko.

The Hattori building during the Meiji Era, image via Wikipedia

Speaking of clocks and watches, a common characteristic of the two buildings is the.. clock tower.
At the beginning, the old Hattori building featured a tower with a 1 meter diameter bell, manually operated to mark the hours. The today’s Ginza Waco clock announces the time singing a well known melody, Westminster Chimes.

Una din puţinele clădiri din Ginza care au supravieţuit bombardamentelor din timpul celui de-al doilea război mondial a fost Hattori Clock Tower, cunoscută şi cu numele de Ginza Wako. Situată ?n inima districtului Ginza şi deţinută de Seiko Holdings Corporation, Ginza Wako este unul dintre cele mai cunoscute şi luxoase magazine din Japonia.

Clădirea, ?n stilul Neo-Renaissance, a fost proiectată de arhitectul Jin Watanabe şi construită in 1932.

Pe acelaşi loc fusese vechiul Hattori Clock Tower, clădire construită ?n 1894, sediul unui magazin de ceasuri şi bijuterii deţinut de Kintaro Hattori.
Aceasta este compania care ?n 1913 a produs primul ceas de m?nă din Japonia, sub numele de Seikosha, care a devenit apoi Seiko.

Clădirea Hattori ?n perioada Meiji, image via Wikipedia

Şi pentru că tot vorbeam de ceasuri, elementul comun al celor două clădiri este turnul cu… ceas .
Dacă prima clădire a avut la ?nceput un clopot cu diametrul de 1 metru, acţionat manual pentru a anunţa ora exactă, clădirea nouă are un ceas care anunţă ora c?nt?nd cunoscuta melodie Westminster Chimes.