sekijuku, mie. 関宿、三重

its been more than 4 months since i visited there, yet the topics for today is about Sekijuku.

Sekijuku is in the city of Kameyama, Mie prefecture. it is the 47th station of Toukaidou 53. it is on the list of important traditional buildings agglomeration preservation districts. these are the basic information. 

its Strength is the great built environment, and non-touristy atmosphere. the urban landscape was preserved very well with smart ideas. the road surfaces were also very good both for pedestrians and local drivers. the well preserved great buildings are result of its inconvenience location. although all the other 52 stations of Toukaidou were nearly destroyed by redevelopment, Sekijuku is not located suitable area for the redevelopment, it could avoid the cultural destruction and keep its great figure. furthermore, regardless of its beautiful built environment, it is not a very touristy place yet. it may be because of the rainy weather, but the number of tourists is obviously small. there are not many shops and restaurants for visitors either. it made a small inconvenience, yet because of its non-touristy character, sekijuku is popular destination for period drama shootings. although there were not many shops and restaurants, there were at least 2 really great cafes. 1 was surely one of the best cafes in japan ive ever been to. its name is Nagao-Yakkyoku, or Nagao Farmacy, although its a cafe:)

on the contrary, the Weakness could be its inconvenience in location, transportation and activities. thanks to the location, sekijuku has kept its figure, but it was not easy to get there at all. the number of trains are limited. it made me very strict to keep time, which i dont like when im traveling. the inconvenience in the activities refers to the lack of restaurant-kinds facilities. i still remember that i could have only a brownie for the lunch at one of the cafes. it didnt offer any meal...

it is very ironic that its inconvenience made sekijuku to maintain its unique and untouched urban landscape, but simultaneously, it made difficult for tourists to allow them to rest and enjoy touristy activities, namely, shopping and buying gifts.

for the touristy objectives, there should be more restaurants and cafes. at the same time, for the preservation purposes, the landscape shouldnt be changed. it would be very difficult to brand this area by satisfying tourists and locals simultaneously. as some of the buildings does, such as nagao yakkyoku cafe, it would be very exciting to reform inside of some houses to transform to restaurants... they do not have to appeal to be restaurants, yet it would be very comfortable if i can eat something more meal-like things for lunch next time i visit there. 

it would be really exciting if i can come up with something really crazy to propose, but i need to think more to come up with something... its almost impossible to just create something new while im typing... maybe my vocabrary of planning is too small. i have to walk much more so that i can get inspired by more!!