I start most days by listening to NPR. Today an excellent story about Japan's development of hotels to handle their increased tourism was on. It talked about how the city of Kyoto is having to work quickly to do archaeological research in conjunction with building projects because of all the artifacts that are uncovered during development. And it also talked about the loss of some historic buildings to new developments. The story concludes with details of how one temple owner is developing a hotel with the ground floor divided between the lobby and a new temple. When I heard the story I thought they were building the hotel around the existing temple which reminded me of the Cafe in the Crypt at St Martin in the Fields Church in London. The cafe profits support the church as a way to keep up with times and space constraints of a heavily populated city. Hopefully many of the projects are able to incorporate existing buildings into their new developments. It would be very sad if they destroy the very things that are drawing tourists in order to make room for the tourists. Historic preservation is more more than just keeping old things around and untouched but also relevant to the current population. It is a balancing act that has long lasting to permanent consequences on both sides.
