Created in collaboration with Simplicity Design Studio, the interior of Aesop Kamakura holds diverging qualities in dynamic equilibrium. This organising principle was inspired by the coexistence of opposites found throughout the ancient capital, where precipitous mountains abut the open ocean, and historic temples that recall thirteenth-century shogunate power jostle with early-twentieth-century villas designed for seaside recreation. In a similar way, one half of our store is open and bright, while the other is muted and moody; one expresses the sedimentation of the local geology while the other articulates the atmosphere of Kamakura Bunko—a famed book rental shop which fostered artistic and intellectual enquiry in the 1940s.
Aesop Kamakura
Signature store
Opening hours
- Monday11:00am - 7:00pm
- Tuesday11:00am - 7:00pm
- Wednesday11:00am - 7:00pm
- Thursday11:00am - 7:00pm
- Friday11:00am - 7:00pm
- Saturday11:00am - 7:00pm
- Sunday11:00am - 7:00pm
The first space appears as a geological formation—rammed earth lines the walls, supports the shelves and forms the stepped central basins. The ivory hues of the compressed clay and gravel are dappled and striated, suggestive of the narrow passes (kiridoshi) cut through Kamakura’s surrounding mountains. Here, customers can explore our full range of formulations for the skin, hair, body and home, with dexterous consultants on hand to recommend products best suited to each individual’s needs.
Panelled in deeply stained timber, the shelves and storage nooks in the second room mirror the Bunko’s spatial characteristics—with Aesop jars and bottles standing in for books. A disguised passage leads visitors to a private basin where they can interact with formulations as one would leaf through thought-provoking tomes in a bookstore’s intimate niche. Tucked away to the side and shrouded behind sliding shoji doors, a parlour reminiscent of a typical Kamakura villa is dedicated to our world of unorthodox Eaux de Parfum. The ambiance within is subdued, allowing customers to isolate their olfactory sense and identify their preferred aroma, an item of clothing can be imbued with a chosen scent—an aromatic memento to take back into the contrastingly airy outside realm.