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International Resort Town: Karuizawa
With churches in the woods and North American-style houses with vast gardens hundreds of square meters in size, Karuizawa has a distinct atmosphere. It is situated at the foot of Mt. Asama in Nagano Prefecture, and with a population of 19,000, it’s such a small town that you can drive around it in under 30 minutes. Karuizawa is known as a resort town and a tourist spot because it’s rich in nature, cool in summer and also has an urban feel.
Karuizawa has a history as a resort for non-Japanese. Surprisingly, it was not a Japanese person but a missionary from Canada named Alexander Croft SHAW that made the ordinary inn town into the famous resort it is today. In 1886, Shaw visited Karuizawa as part of his missionary work and fell in love with the town’s beauty and cool summer temperatures. He eventually built a church (Shaw Memorial Chapel) and a cottage there.
In the years that followed, not only friends who had visited him in Karuizawa, but also ambassadors to Japan and foreign politicians started building their own vacation homes in Karuizawa. Thus, by around 1900, Karuizawa had become an international resort town where as many as 80 percent of its cottages were owned by non-Japanese.
At that time, there were always crowds of foreign vacationers in front of Karuizawa Station and Western culture was seen everywhere in the town. The construction of international hotels, such as Manpei Hotel, started, which allowed people who didn’t own a cottage to freely visit Karuizawa.
Churches and villas are not the only foreign things to have been brought to Karuizawa; there is cabbage too. Because of the severe cold, grains like rice don’t grow well in Karuizawa. Non-Japanese who came to avoid the heat of summer ordered farmers to grow cabbage instead and later had it cultivated on a large scale.
There are 11 golf courses in Karuizawa where many women come to play on holidays. The town has even more tennis courts. Municipal courts alone number 24, and there are a countless number of others that belong to company recreation facilities and hotels. For many Japanese, it’s a well-known fact that the current Emperor of Japan first met the Empress at one of those tennis courts.
Karuizawa Prince Shopping Plaza, located near the south exit of the Karuizawa train station, was enlarged in November 2008 to become one of the largest outlet shopping malls in Japan with 217 shops. Announcements are made in English, Korean and Chinese for the many non-Japanese tourists visiting the mall. During the summer holidays, the mall is crowded with many families and couples.
On the north side of the train station, there are still remnants of how the town used to be. Surrounded by maple and larch trees, Kumoba Pond is a peaceful and quiet pond where you can see families of spot-billed ducks swim and hear birdsong. The pond is so small that even at a leisurely pace you can walk around it in about 30 minutes. It’s a popular walk among residents of the nearby cottages.
The Kyu Karuizawa (Old Karuizawa) area has thrived as a modern resort with hot springs and art museums. Fashionable cafes and restaurants are tucked away along the area’s alleys. Many couples have their weddings at St. Paul’s Catholic Church just off the main street.
What can be described as the symbol of Karuizawa is the 2,568-meter Mt. Asama. It’s an active volcano which had a small eruption early this year. The mountain had a major eruption in 1783, when large amounts of lava flowed out and hardened at its foot, creating a mysterious landscape. It’s called Oni-oshidashi (Devil’s Pushout). People of that time thought it looked as if a devil had turned violent in the crater and pushed out the rocks, and that impression still amazes visitors.
For those who would like to cool down, Shiraito-no-taki (White Thread Falls) is recommended. From the rocks of a curved cliff that is 3 meters high and 70 meters wide, spring water flows down like hundreds of white threads. Since it flows from an underground source, the water is surprisingly clear and doesn’t get muddy even after it has rained.
Karuizawa Station is a little more than one hour from Tokyo Station by bullet train. By car, get off Joshin-Etsu Expressway at the Usui-Karuizawa interchange.
Cooperation: NONAKA Nobuyuki
(From September Issue 2009)
