There's a strong association with history and culture that the mere word "Kamakura" conjures, but I'm not so sure the geography of the area also comes to mind so readily. The city is built up against a series of mountains, that, while not very high, are - as are nearly all the mountains in Japan - quite steep, so once you've invested as little as five to ten minutes of climbing up a very steep path, you find yourself at the top and walking along the top of the inverted "V", feeling as though you're in quite a high place, not unlike the way even a fairly low building seems quite high from the roof with that sudden drop as you contemplate a fall that you wouldn't likely survive and a view that is amazingly impressive - considering the minimal actual height.
At night... more of the past seemed to be in the air, but even so, it did feel like a call from a very great distance, and a long time it has been - Kamakura was the capital of Japan over 700 years ago (for exact dates and historical details, enter Kamakura into a search engine).
Copyright 2004 - Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon, Images Through Glass, Tokyo