Nara ¨C Wherever you roam within Nara¡¯s newest luxury hotel, it¡¯s impossible to forget that you¡¯re living the high life where countless figures from the not-too-distant past were incarcerated.
The physical structure of the Hoshinoya Nara Prison hotel is as imposing as it is stately. A red-brick gatehouse marks the facility¡¯s entrance, while preserved guard posts have all-encompassing views down each of the five cell blocks across two stories. The floor plan of each guest room also combines several former cells for accommodations that don¡¯t try to mask their former purpose.
Staying here naturally unearths many questions: Is it right to luxuriate in a place that was surely a site of misery for its past occupants? And in a country like Japan that puts such a premium on public safety, sometimes to the point of overreach, what role should prisons play, both existing facilities and historical sites?
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