What is the Amish?

The Amish are a group of Christian churches.

They originated from Swiss-German and Alsatian Anabaptists, and migrated from Europe to the Americas around 1850 during the pioneering period.

They still live the same way they did when they first settled in America.

Believe it or not, people still use traditional horse-drawn carriages to get around.

Lancaster, Pennsylvania, is known as the home of the largest Amish community.

Lancaster is one of the oldest areas in the United States, and is also famous for having the oldest market in the United States, called Central Market. Downtown Lancaster has many of the oldest church buildings in the United States. Just a step away from the downtown downtown and residential areas, you will find a peaceful rural landscape.

The scenery is of corn fields, farmhouses with silos, and pastures just beyond the fences along the road, where you can see grazing cows up close. It may be a scene similar to that of Hokkaido.

As you drive through this idyllic rural landscape, you will often come across Amish horse-drawn carriages.

The Amish still live a life apart from modern civilization, forming their own communities and cooperating with each other.

However, in Lancaster, there is no clear boundary that indicates from here on out it is a village where only the Amish live.

It is not uncommon for an Amish house to be next door to a "normal person's house."

However, even though they are neighbors, they are not packed together like houses in Japan. It may be easier to understand if you imagine the neighboring house being a few meters away, separated by a field.

The way to distinguish between Amish and normal people's houses is that the Amish hang their laundry outside to dry in the sun just like in Japan, so if you see laundry hanging outside, it's an Amish house. (In America, the custom of hanging laundry outside like in Japan has disappeared, and most people dry their laundry using indoor dryers.)

Although they form their own community, they do not live in complete isolation from the local community.

At places similar to what we call "roadside stations" in Japan, you can buy Amish produce, homemade sweets, and other items directly from the Amish.

You can also see many Amish people selling their produce directly in front of their homes. Amish strawberries and chicken barbecues, which are often sold in early spring, are particularly fresh and delicious, attracting many visitors.