Old Books and Vintage Clothes: Crossing to the Other Side of the Station

If the east side of Wakaremichi is the Kamakura of old temples and quiet valleys, the west side of the station is the Kamakura of secondhand bookshops and vintage clothing. It is neither the Temple Path nor the Valley Path, but another fork in the road: change to the far side of the station and spend a day walking between shelves and racks. It also makes a good plan for a rainy day.

The route

• From Wakaremichi, walk down Wakamiya-oji avenue to Kamakura Station, then go through to the west exit on the Enoden side.
• Taraba Shobo (Onarimachi): a neighborhood bookshop at the corner of the west-exit plaza. It sells new books, not secondhand ones, but its shelves of fiction, humanities and world literature are chosen to catch your eye. Pick up your first book here.
• Vintage shops in Ogigayatsu: a short walk north of the west exit you will find vintage clothing shops such as LOTUS vintage and LUCKY KAMAKURA.
• Imakoji Bookstore (Ogigayatsu): a secondhand bookshop, open on weekends only.
• Kosho Kunpuudo (Sasuke): just through the Onari tunnel. The second floor of a Showa-era house has become a secondhand bookshop where you can browse as if you were at home. Strong in philosophy, art, world literature and women’s history.
• Kohbundo Shoten (Yuigahama-dori): introduced as the largest and oldest secondhand bookshop in Kamakura, with plenty of books about Kamakura itself. You may find just the book for the rest of your trip.
• Vintage shops on Yuigahama-dori: there are vintage clothing shops such as Chapter vintage along the street that leads to the sea.
• Yuigahama Beach: follow the street out to the sea, and open your new book on the beach for a while.

A fork in the road

• On weekends: pick a day when Imakoji Bookstore and Kosho Kunpuudo are open, and you can visit the most bookshops.
• On weekdays: build your walk around Taraba Shobo and Kohbundo Shoten, looking into vintage shops on the way down Yuigahama-dori to the sea.
• The way back: walk straight north up Wakamiya-oji avenue from the sea, past Hachimangu, back to Wakaremichi, in time for dinner.

Most of these are small independent shops with their own opening days and hours, which may change. Please check each shop’s social media before you go.