Restaurant Kamakura Village

If you are in or near--or are going to be in or near--Nagano Prefecture in Japan in the next 2 weeks or so, you might want to hurry over to Restaurant Kamakura Village in Iiyama. This charming restaurant set up only from late January to late February features 20 individual snow huts or igloos in which one dines on a local specialty hot pot called Noroshi Nabe made with vegetables, local mushrooms, and an Iiyama specialty: Miyuki Pork. Lunch or dinner reservations are available!

And visitors may visit the Shinto Shrine at the end of the walkway in the outdoor restaurant. A red Tori gate marks the entrance to this special snow hut. Inside is an offering box as well as a woven rope called a Shimenawa. Made of rice straw or hemp, these Shimenawa are sacred in the Shinto religion and are used for purification and to ward off evil spirits. In the Kamakura Shinto Shrine, one is placed on some small trees so as to attract the spirits that dwell in them. Kindly, one does not need to be a restaurant guest to visit the shrine.

If you'd like to go, there are only a few more weeks left! Visit the Nagano Prefecture website or the city of Iiyama website for more information:

https://www.go-nagano.net/en/
https://www.iiyama-ouendan.net/en/special/kamakura/