Thursday, July 17, 2014

Day 7: Kamakura

Update: Because I finally got the pictures from my good camera onto my computer after the trip, I'm going to start going back and putting nicer pictures in the blog, too.

Before we had set in foot in Japan, I knew that I wanted to go to Kamakura. Martin insisted that we wouldn't want to take day trips from Tokyo, that we would be too busy exploring the city itself. But I knew that I wasn't going to Japan for its metropolises-- I was going for the historic sites that could be found in their outskirts. Kamakura is one such area, known among tourists for its giant metal Buddha (Daibutsu) and among locals for its beach island of Enoshima.

We woke up and got moving quickly in order to make a day trip worthwhile. Abe had elected not to join us, preferring instead to meet his friend for the day, so we took off without him and headed to Tokyo Station. At the station (after slight confusion regarding the map and the train system) we caught a JR train to Kita-Kamakura.

Once on the train, we were surprised at how beautiful it was. The seats were a deep green, there was plenty of space, and the giant windows that lined the train afforded expansive views of the scenery around us. It took us about fifteen minutes to realize that we were sitting in First Class, which we had definitely not paid for. In a moment of panic, I accidentally showed our tickets to the woman offering refreshments, even though she was definitely not asking for them. Apologizing profusely, she showed us our part of the train, which looked like a regular subway car.

Once at Kita-Kamakura, Martin called T-Mobile to clear up some worrisome texts he'd gotten about international data roaming, while I tried to figure out what path we should take through the various temples that dotted the walk to Kamakura proper. Having settled the false alarm text messages with T-Mobile, Martin joined me and we walked by several temples before electing to go to Tokei-ji. This temple was known as a refuge for women who wanted divorces from their husbands in a time when only the husband could ask for a divorce. They were able to earn their divorces by living on the temple grounds for three years. Sounds like a rotten deal but the temple grounds were absolutely beautiful, and it was moving to imagine the women that were forced to seek refuge there.

Martin sleepy at divorce temple

Martin trying to wake up at divorce temple


Small shrine at divorce temple

After the beautiful, shady temple, we walked along the street under the hot sun, too tired and sweaty to be tempted by very many other temples. We stopped to buy water from a woman who was literally half my size and who eagerly pointed out the difference in Japanese. Part of our walk to Kamakura involved crossing a steep hill which was a historical crossing that could only be traversed on bicycle or on foot.

Flowers along the historical crossing

Finally, exhausted, we found Kamakura Station and bought tickets for the Enoshima Train, a historic wooden train that would take us where we wanted to go for the rest of the day. We got off the train at the Hase Station, from which we would be able to see both the giant Buddha and Hasedera Temple.

We walked alongside a pack of elementary school children until we reached Hasedera Temple, which had beautiful grounds and statues.

Incense at Hasedera

Rows of Buddhas at Hasedera

Courtyard and ocean at Hasedera


Smiling friends

Zen Garden at Hasedera

In addition to having the standard temple features, Hasedera turned out to be full of surprises. The biggest surprise (literally) was a giant golden Buddha statue that we didn't even know was at Hasedera when we decided to visit. Pictures weren't allowed but this is a link to someone's weird blog who has a picture of it: http://www.traveladventures.org/continents/asia/kamakura06.html. Legend has it that two such statues were made, and the second was thrown into the ocean to help ease suffering in the world.

The second surprise was much smaller (literally). We entered a cave at the temple site that was a small Shinto shrine, and happened across a side path that took us to a room full of miniature Buddhas! I wrote an intention on the back of a tiny Buddha myself and put it there to live with all his little buddha friends.
Martin with the little budhas
My little buddha ( by the flower)

We left Hasedera Temple and made the short walk over to the Daibutsu, which we incorrectly called Daibattsu (like the Americans we are). The sight of this giant, seated Buddha is completely astounding, and really feels like something out of a movie.



We took the requisite pictures with the Buddha before paying two cents to go inside the massive structure, a hollow chamber in which sound reverberated and we read a panel about how the buddha had been assembled.
 Inside Daibutsu


Hanging close to Daibutsu were his giant straw sandals, which obviously made us imagine what it would be like if the huge statue stood up and slipped them on.

Hot, tired, and hungry, we went back to Kamakura Station and took the train to the Enoshima stop. From the stop, we took a short walk until we reached a long bridge that stretched from the mainland to the small island town of Enoshima. We reapplied sunscreen before heading out into the glaring sun again, then crossed the bridge and arrived at the island. Our cameras were dead, but the walk looked like this: http://www.guillaumeerard.com/images/stories/japan/sightseeing/enoshima/Enoshima-159.jpg

Once at the island, we stopped to eat in the first restaurant that looked like it might have something the Martin could eat. We settled on a restaurant where we sat on tatami mats and I ate shrimp tempura and hot udon while Martin ate delicious tuna sashimi.

Enoshima is basically one big hill (see picture), so after lunch we climbed up it, past shrines and little shops, until we got a great view of the Pacific. The end of the Enoshima loop has an oceanside cave that is supposed to be very interesting, but recent inclement weather made the ocean too rough for cave visitation when we were there. We did still get to go by the water, though, and from this far side of Enoshima we managed to see the elusive Mt. Fuji in the distance.

Our only picture from Enoshima because our phones and my camera were dead.

After heading back the way we came across the bridge, we walked along the beach around sunset to the next Enoshima line stop, and took two trains back to Tokyo. When we arrived at the bottom of our apartment building, Abe was leaving for a pub crawl and told us to come join him later.

We rested, got some very spicy Indian food, and then almost bailed on going out because we were too tired. Somehow, we managed to rally after an exhausting day and join Abe for a drink at one of the bars (named Milwaukee) where we met his new Australian friends.


No comments:

Post a Comment