Contents
“Glocalization” in the Shanghai–Nanjing–Hangzhou Metropolitan Area
How Art Empowers the Spatial Design and Operation of an Arashiyama Guesthouse
A Two-Way Pursuit: Investment and Development through “Glocalization”
I. Interesting Questions in the Kansai Metropolitan Area
Japan attracts visitors from around the world with its unique charm. The diverse and vibrant Kansai metropolitan area is particularly captivating. Recently, I came across an interesting map — a published map illustrating the distribution of the Kansai dialect.
Is Himeji the western boundary of the Kansai dialect? Indeed, Himeji marks the end of Kansai. Beyond Himeji, in the direction of Okayama, the Kansai dialect is hardly heard. Interestingly, this linguistic boundary coincides with railway operations: from JR Osaka Station, westbound local trains often terminate at Himeji. In both language and transportation, Himeji serves as a clear dividing line.
As someone from outside the region, my understanding of Kansai is shaped by several reference points: administrative divisions; transportation networks; mountain ranges and river systems; renowned historical and cultural heritage sites; influential historical and cultural figures; and urban planning. Is there anything else? Yes — the experience of getting lost, and then finding one’s way.
People who love Osaka and Kyoto each have their own emphases. Popular tourist hotspots in Osaka typically include five major areas: Osaka Castle, Universal Studios Japan, Dotonbori, Kaiyukan Aquarium, and the Umeda commercial district. For me at this stage, there are also five places I wish to explore: the Yodo River (via water bus), Nakanoshima (centered on Osaka City Central Public Hall and its historic architecture), shopping arcades along the JR Loop Line, the Keihan Railway line, and the Hankyu Railway line. I seek out and savor “innovative districts” and communities with a strong creative atmosphere — places that often feature refined bookstores, cafés, izakaya, ceramic shops, and galleries for calligraphy and painting.
Cities gain vitality from water. Osaka is known as the “Venice of the East” (and historically as “the nation’s kitchen”), while Kyoto’s water system resembles the branches of a tree. Apart from river inlets and bays, early Osaka had only limited elevated terrain, such as around Uehommachi. The Uji River, Kizu River, and Katsura River converge to form the Yodo River, which in turn connects upstream to Lake Biwa.
Historically, Kansai was home to several ancient capitals, including Heian-kyō, as well as Naniwa-kyō, Nara-kyō, and Nagaoka-kyō. Across different periods, both Osaka and Kyoto inherited urban planning paradigms influenced by Chang’an and Paris.
The writer Shiba Ryōtarō, a man of a fascinating spirit, left behind a residence and stories that remain deeply compelling. Likewise, for those interested in Haruki Murakami or Jun’ichirō Tanizaki, the traces they left in Kobe and Kyoto continue to draw attention.
As a geographer, I not only focus on tourism geography, literary geography, and industrial geography, but also on behavioral geography, urban geography, transportation geography, food geography, and the geography of entrepreneurship and innovation. Because of this attention, the region becomes endlessly interesting. For our new guesthouse investment, we selected Arashiyama, located just a three-minute walk from JR Arashiyama Station. Humanity enriches the Way by embedding itself within historical and geographical contexts. A light and expansive state of mind must draw upon landscapes — landscapes stir the soul, history bridges past and present. Arashiyama is a world window of Oriental studies.
2. Glocalization in the Shanghai–Nanjing–Hangzhou Metropolitan Area
Although globalization and localization fluctuate in different cycles, there is no doubt that both continue to deepen. The metropolitan area centered on Shanghai, Nanjing, and Hangzhou is among the world’s largest and most dynamic urban regions, where deep globalization and deeply rooted localization coexist. In modern history, well-known universities founded by missionary organizations include St. John’s University, Aurora University, and University of Shanghai in Shanghai; Zhijiang University in Hangzhou; and Jinling University in Nanjing.
Historic and cultural districts often represent the most vivid spatial expressions of glocalization. Strolling along Wukang Road in Shanghai, the Grand Canal Historic District in Hangzhou, or the Presidential Palace and the 1912 Republican-era architectural cluster in Nanjing, one can experience the fusion and sedimentation of diverse cultures.
From the perspective of global industrial chains, brand- and technology-driven development has taken on a two-way dynamic. Especially amid intensifying China–U.S. competition, the Shanghai–Nanjing–Hangzhou metropolitan area and the embedded Suzhou–Wuxi–Changzhou urban cluster continue to demonstrate remarkable vitality in AI, biomedicine, medical devices, and electronic machinery.
3. How Art Empowers the Spatial Design and Operation of an Arashiyama Guesthouse
Only by possessing intrinsic value can one collaborate to create greater value. We ourselves are embedded in and connected across multiple spatial scales. Rooted in East Asia, we connect two major global metropolitan regions: the Kansai metropolitan area centered on Kyoto and Osaka, and the Yangtze River Delta metropolitan area centered on Shanghai–Nanjing–Hangzhou and Suzhou–Wuxi–Changzhou. Our greatest fortune is discovering the transcendent value of Arashiyama as a world-class historical and cultural treasure.
I even harbor a vision of establishing a “World Arashiyama Studies” base.
There are three convenient railway routes to our guesthouse: JR Saga-Arashiyama Station (4-minute walk), Hankyu Arashiyama Station (24-minute walk), and Keifuku Electric Railroad (Randen) Saga Station (7-minute walk).
Our guesthouse is embedded within the Katsura River basin, beside the iconic Togetsukyō Bridge. The surrounding mountains and rivers, historical heritage, shopping streets, temples and gardens, museums and art galleries, cafés and traditional houses, bamboo groves, and flowing rivers together create an extraordinary resonance between past and present, East and West, humanity and nature.
Our nearby neighbors include “Tenshi no Sato,” “Kachū-an,” and the Takeuchi Seihō Memorial Museum — a vast yet refined garden complex covering approximately 9,900 square meters, set against the backdrop of Saga-Arashiyama and the Katsura River. This site also functions as a museum and a members-only facility operated by Volks Inc. for Super Dollfie, the highest-tier product line in doll artistry. Tenshi no Sato and Kachū-an are both the birthplace of Super Dollfie and a specialty retail and member service center, featuring exhibitions and events. Takeuchi Seihō (1864–1942) was a pioneering modern Japanese painter, a leading figure in Kyoto’s prewar art scene, an Imperial Household Artist, and a recipient of the first Order of Culture. Together, this area forms a true creative and artistic enclave.
Arashiyama’s Bamboo Grove Path is a popular uphill walking trail lined with towering bamboo. From Togetsukyō Bridge, visitors can admire spring blossoms, autumn foliage, and surrounding mountains. The World Heritage Site Tenryū-ji, a Zen temple at the foot of the mountains, is solemn and majestic, featuring tea rooms and expansive serene gardens. The Saga-Arashiyama Bunka-kan museum presents scenes from the famous “Hyakunin Isshu” poetry anthology and offers Heian-period costume rentals for visitors.
Fukuda Art Museum is a modern architectural space offering one of the finest views of Togetsukyō Bridge. Long cherished by aristocrats and cultural figures, the area has inspired countless artistic masterpieces. The museum houses approximately 2,000 Japanese paintings. The Arashiyama Music Box Museum exhibits around 2,000 music boxes on rotation, offers live demonstrations, and includes a retail shop.
Kyoto’s Arashiyama is no longer only about maple leaves, Togetsukyō Bridge, and rickshaws. In recent years, excellent bakeries and aromatic coffee have also emerged. The Tokyo-based popular café “Bread, Espresso &” renovated a 210-year-old designated cultural property — the former Kobayashi residence — into Pan to Espresso to Arashiyama Garden. Visitors can enjoy bread and coffee within a traditional Japanese building while overlooking a garden, allowing modern tastes to coexist with Kyoto’s timeless atmosphere.
Along the JR Saga-Arashiyama Line, one stop east lies Uzumasa, home to Toei Uzumasa Eigamura, a theme park and film studio recreating Edo-period streetscapes. Four stops east is Nijo Station, where Nijo Castle — a cypress-wood castle built in 1603 with expansive gardens — once served as the residence of Tokugawa Ieyasu.
Arashiyama Hoshokai: https://www.arashiyamahoshokai.com
Pan to Espresso to Arashiyama Garden: https://matcha-jp.com
Tenshi no Sato: https://dollfie.volks.co.jp
4. A Two-Way Pursuit: Investment and Development through “Glocalization”
We are committed practitioners of “glocalization.” The world has become deeply interconnected. Regions that are profoundly embedded are spaces where history, geography, art, technology, and human habitation are highly integrated. We call such spaces “innovation zones.”
In China, the phrase “go global or be eliminated” vividly reflects the forced internationalization of manufacturing amid great-power competition. To this end, we must build and enrich development platforms. Guesthouses serve as a vital resource and platform for our internationalization. Cognitive proximity is the first step toward global engagement and ultimately forms the foundation for value co-creation. Through the integration of past and present, and the fusion of East and West, glocalization ultimately realizes innovation within the grand chorus of history and geography.
We connect the Kansai metropolitan area with the Shanghai–Nanjing–Hangzhou metropolitan area, while looking outward to Singapore and Malaysia. To strengthen these connections, we must create and expand better “cyber” spaces.
Aichi University has established a new Center for World Chinese Studies. Our aspirations include “World Arashiyama Studies,” “World Jiangyin Studies,” and “World Xinghua Studies.” To become a “spiritual homeland” where distance dissolves and hearts draw near — this is what we seek.