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Heart and Soul
The lovingly preserved historic entertainment district of Nishigumi
What makes a place. I mean what really makes a place. The architecture? the people? food, scenery, weather? A really good bakery?
I’m not even sure if there is an answer to this question, or if that answer may be different for every person. For me it’s as simple as connection. Do I feel connected to a place and if so, why? I can’t really explain the reasons why Lisbon and Istanbul felt immediately familiar to me the first times I visited, or why Seattle and Dubai have always made me feel uncomfortable, they just do. What I can share are all the things about my town that have made me feel wam and welcomed since the first day I arrived. And why, of all the amazing things my town has to offer, it’s the historic district that resonates with me and keeps me coming back for more.
A vibrant community of friendly people
Traditional townscapes are found all across Japan, but in many cases such villages feel more tantamount to ‘living museums’ as most of the buildings are unoccupied, converted into displays of what life was like ‘back in the day’, or repurposed as tourist shops hawking kitsch products featuring the towns mascot. You won’t find that here. Both in our historic red-light district of Nishigumi and the neighborhoods that border it vacant buildings are rare and most of these traditional Machiya have either been lovingly restored into beautiful homes or serve as boutiques and shops for local entrepreneurs. It’s a vibrant area with a surprising demographic of young or multi generational families where you’re more likely to bump into happy children on their way home from school than elderly residents out for a stroll.
Great architecture in an impressive setting
The borrowed view is a classic Japanese notion typically discussed when viewing temple gardens. It most often refers to the idea of incorporating the view of a distant mountain to enhance your garden viewing experience. A modern day example would be that classic image of Tokyo taken from a high-rise building with the cityscape sprawling out into the distance with a dominant Mt Fuji looming in the background. The sacred mountain isn’t part of the cityscape but it incorporates quite nicely given the appropriate weather and lens selection. Our town sits in a highly protected bay from which a broad valley extends deep into the mountains, from which smaller and more narrow valleys branch off to either side. As the south western edge of our bay curls back towards the sea our historic district gets funneled deeper into one of these valley branches and as a result, most of what we take in while strolling around these narrow streets is backdropped against beautifully verdant hills on either side.
So be it the architecture, numerous temples and shrines, friendly locals greeting you, the beautiful borrowed views, or our world class bakery, you’re gonna love the historic district of my town. And yeah… it’s probably the bakery.
Lovely manicured parks and gardens are to be found all across the historic district of Obama