The Kawaramachi district of Tambasasayama includes a very traditional street with various cafes, antiques and ceramics stores, a jewelry and clothing shop, restaurants, a small local JP Post Office, art galleries, even a tatami mat maker and dealer. It hosts several arts and crafts fairs every year. Masumi and I call it merchant street for convenience.
With very traditional buildings and architecture, it has always been a very charming place to visit, view, and walk, with many fun stops along the way . . . with one caveat. As you can see in the photo at the top, it always had ugly power, telephone, and digital transmission lines strung on equally unsightly poles.
Because Japanese really care about aesthetics — especially in locations offering the rich cultural heritage of Japan — the local government decided to do something ab0ut it.
At great expense, over several months, teams of workers buried the electrical lines. This is what it looks like now.
Quite a difference, eh?
I’ve written before about the time and effort given to infrastructure here. It’s fascinating — inspiring! — to me to see the thoughtfulness, kind of care, the meticulous workmanship, that goes into making everything work well and look good here in Japan. The cities are incredibly clean, the trains run on time to the minute, vehicles are kept in perfect shape — no exhaust pipes belching smoke — the modern and traditional are tastefully blended into a harmonious whole.
Some might claim that the Japanese are extreme, obsessive. Is it extreme to hold ourselves to the very highest standards of excellence?
