Kamakura Mind: Prologue
Do you know Kamakura?
Maybe you have seen photos of our signature bronze statue, the Great Buddha. Or, maybe you’ve read about the Kamakura Period in Japanese history.
Kamakura is a small historical town in Japan, about an hour away from Tokyo, a mecca for tourists. Some people call it “Little Kyoto” (a name which I only partially agree with, but more about that another time).
I am a middle-aged Japanese female, living with my American husband and two loving teenagers in Kamakura.
Moving to Kamakura
It was 8 years ago when we decided to move from Vermont in the U.S. to start the next chapter of our lives. We searched Google Earth to see where we wanted to live next.
San Francisco and Seattle were strong candidates, but I wanted my kids to remember that half of their blood is Japanese (and I missed Japanese food!), so I voted for someplace in Japan.
After living in Vermont, the Green Mountain State, where the fields remind you of the Sound of Music (so much that the Von Trapp family moved there after the war) and folks used to say there were more cows than people, it was impossible to move back to Tokyo where we used to live. Our old house was too small for us, and most of all, we needed more nature.
Our ideal spot had to be:
1. Surrounded by nature for biking, hiking, and walks.
2. Commuting distance to Tokyo.
3. A town with a sense of history.
Kamakura fit the bill perfectly!
It is one hour from Tokyo by train, surrounded on three sides by mountains and one by the ocean.
We had no friends, no relatives living here, but we did not care. We fell in love with the town right away.
Once your train arrives at Kita-Kamakura station, a stop before Kamakura, you can feel the air change. The endless buildings you’ve been looking at outside your window all the way from Tokyo suddenly stop, and you’re in the countryside.
Kamakura is not just full of nature.
Kamakura is not just full of nature, but also history and culture. Just walking around town, you can see remnants of the ancient capital of the samurai, and hear the echoes of Zen Buddhism’s rise in the ringing of temple bells. Thanks to Kamakura being one of the towns spared from bombing in WW2, there are many old houses and traditional streets remaining.
Since I started to work from home two years ago, I’ve discovered many more charms of the town by just walking around and talking to people — artists, monks, and merchants.
Now that it’s difficult to do even that, I am grateful to be able to share the charms of Kamakura with you.
For the Japanese version, click here.
