There are many Japanese people living in Kyoto who say that we should make Kyoto more modern, with an expressway and large buildings. To those people I say...Please go to Osaka. Osaka has many cement and tile buildings and bridges for trains and cars. It has very little that is pretty. Kyoto has many wood buidings and homes in the historic style. This is much more attractive than white tile buildings in Osaka. Already, many graceful traditional homes, resturants and buildings in Kyoto have been torn down and replaced with cement karaoke or pachinko with neon signs instead of noren. Already much of Kyoto history is right next to these modern eye-sores. Please, no more!
In the country where I am from, the USA, we have towns that are historic (although our history is much younger than Japan's). In those towns, the town government and the people of the town agree to restrict the style of buildings and "improvements" to existing buildings. This way the town people will only build and decorate their homes in the style of the period of history. My cousin lives in a town where only 2-floor buildings are allowed and only certain colors of paint may be used. My college in the USA is also a historic college. When they build new buildings, they must use only red brick and white trim and copper roofs ...because this is the style of the historic period when my college was built.
Many people have pride in Kyoto, but who can have pride in neon pachinko and love hotels? If people want to build pachinko an love hotels in Kyoto, they should make the building look traditional on the outside. Each time a neon sign goes up, _someone_ looses pride in Kyoto. If everyone looses pride in Kyoto, then what will be left of Kyoto?
The attraction of Kyoto is the pride that people take in their history and in their town. Please, let's keep this pride.
thank you
diane h peapus,