Today, many long-time residents as well as newcomers are seeking to regain a sense of security in the rapidly changing landscape, a city in which one could leave the doors unlocked at night just thirty years ago.
Thirty years ago the city was much safer than it is now.
In order to enter the gardens at the Otemon Gate from Otemachi subway station, you wander through the well trimmed landscape of hedgerows of white and pink azaleas, around ponds and little waterfalls edged with pines, plum trees, canary palms, and soft green cryptomeria japonica.