A Great Symbol of Winter in Japan: Kamakura

The Japanese are a very seasonal people, fond of doing different activities in each season, some of which are quite unique and colorful. In the spring they enjoy hanami flower viewing under the cherry trees (there’s nothing better than having a sakura petal drop down into your beer), while summer is time for beautiful festivals like Tanabata, and autumn a great chance to visit the temples around Nikko when the leaves are starting to turn. Winter has its share of unique Japanese customs, too, and one of my favorites is kamakura, a traditional Japanese igloo made of snow that’s cozy and warm inside thanks to candles and charcoal heaters, or in some cases electric kotatsu heater tables that have been wired very carefully. Kamakura snow huts are made all over northern Japan, but the best place to see them is in Yokote, Akita Prefecture (where Akita dogs come from, presumably), during the 400-year-old Kamakura Snow Festival in February, when more than a hundred dot the town.

Kamakura snow huts are a traditional image of winter in Japan.