The Nara Hotel, So Close Yet So Far
A building standing across the pond
Beyond the Ukimido Pavilion,
across the pond, stands a remarkably elegant building.
Its reflection on the water's surface
blends into the scenery of Nara Park,
yet it has always remained there quietly,
as if drawing a line between itself and the world.
That beautiful building,
clothed in the atmosphere of the Meiji era.
It is the Nara Hotel.
A landscape of longing
For me, having grown up in Nara,
this building
was something close yet far away.
When I was a student,
I would gaze at the Nara Hotel
from across the pond time and time again.
I could have approached it if I wanted to.
Yet, for some reason, my feet would stop.
I could not put the reason into words,
but I think I naturally held a sense of longing
for that Meiji-style architecture.
An atmosphere shared by the people of Nara
For the people of Nara,
the Nara Hotel is indeed a special existence.
The Emperor has stayed there.
I wonder if many people have a memory of hearing that somewhere,
without knowing if it was true or false.
More than whether it is a confirmed historical fact,
the feeling that "it is that kind of place"
has been shared among us before we knew it.
When you think of Nara, you think of the Nara Hotel.
When people say that,
it is true that no other hotel names
come to mind immediately.
I think this building has stood there for a long time,
not so much as an accommodation facility,
but as a symbol of the land of Nara.
Sensibilities acquired abroad and the reason I cannot stay
After I became a working adult and started working away from Nara,
my sense of travel changed little by little.
In places other than Nara,
I no longer had any particular resistance
to staying in expensive hotels or choosing hotels for sightseeing.
Staying for work,
staying for travel,
that became the norm.
However, when I return to Nara,
that feeling strangely reverts to how it was.
Even now, when I stand in front of the Nara Hotel,
I still feel a bit guarded.
When it comes to staying there,
I still feel somewhat hesitant.
Is it because I am from Nara,
or because the memories of my childhood
still remain somewhere in my body?
However,
recently I have started to think like this.
It is still too early to stay there,
but if it is just to go for a meal,
perhaps I could enter more naturally.
Or,
perhaps just stopping by for a coffee
at the cafe.
If I were a guide
To take just one step closer to the building I have kept watching from across the pond.At that distance,
I feel like I could forgive myself even now.
Furthermore, there is one more thing
I often think about.
What if
I were in a position to guide someone visiting Nara for sightseeing?
If I were to walk with them, saying,
"This is the Nara Hotel."
If I were not the protagonist,
but on the side of supporting someone else's journey,
perhaps I could enter without being guarded.
Borrowing the role of a guide,
I would face this place.
I believe there is surely such a way
to manage that distance.
Until the moment the distance closes
Someday, while guiding someone visiting Nara, I hope the day comes when I can step into the Nara Hotel
in the form of a meal or a coffee break.
That,
I think, will not be the moment I let go of my longing,
but the moment the distance I have nurtured over a long time
quietly closes.
Until then,
I will surely
continue to gaze at that Meiji-style building
from beyond the Ukimido Pavilion, across the pond.
That is fine.
Because that is the relationship between me and Nara right now.
Nara Hotel
Official Website
https://www.narahotel.co.jp/