Western Influences

For miles around the gentle slopes to the west of Karuizawa there are besso (‘country villas’ or ‘second homes’) scattered on sizable, secluded plots of land. Rustic, often Western style homes for vacation use in the summer or on the weekend are all over the place. Similar vacation areas with besso can be found in… [Read more]

It is virtually impossible not to find Western influences in Japan. Walk along the Nakasendo and within a mile or two the traveler will pass a roadside shrine no bigger than a doll house. Somebody will have left off a small bunch of flowers, perhaps some wild flowers, perhaps some weed flowers, carefully placed in… [Read more]

Karuizawa might have shrunk into quiet decay like many old post-towns, including neighboring Oiwake, but instead it has developed into a summer resort area. Its population of about 20,000 can be swamped by the tens of thousands of visitors up from Tokyo for a week or a day. Karuizawa was “discovered” by foreign missionaries around… [Read more]