18.11：Autum is coming !

Nara Machi

Recently I’ve had some opportunities to visit Nara Machi, which has a long history as a “monzencho,” (a town originally build around a temple or shrine) and has a quiet, sensitive feeling with its old roads and buildings. 
Are you thinking: “What?!?” so far? 
Indeed, nowadays this area is very crowded as a center of tourism that includes Nara City, Nara Park, Toudaiji, and Koufukuji.  But when we pass through one corner, it remains unchanged, as if we’ve slipped back in time. 
The scale of the old town roads is very comfortable (they are narrow- less than four meters in width- and attractive for walking).  However, in facing some kind of disaster, these roads would be impassible for emergency vehicles. 
And so we have been brainwashed into thinking that “narrow” is dangerous , but the actual surroundings are more comfortable, because cars cannot pass through! 

Additionally, this area has the common problem of an aging population . We who come from outside cannot feel this so sensitively.  We don’t notice such challenges.  Instead, it is exciting for us that new shops and restaurants have come to open in this old town!  They are creating vitality by mixing new and old.  But quiet old houses don’t have their masters . 
I sigh when I think about how near Nara Machi is to the station, and how historical it is, and I’m afraid we must come up with a good method by which to maintain its safety before any new disasters come to pass/befall us.   
Here, Nara Machi has been promoted for its characteristic town with government and people, and tourism has become a big success.  But I think we must open our minds to prepare for the future.  We need to think of a way to preserve the history and quaintness of this neighborhood, while ensuring the safety of the people living in it.  This shouldn’t be only one movement, but rather, we should find a way to maintain this old town longer to lead to new history from even this point forward. 

18.11.15