We didn’t see Bing Crosby or Bob Hope on the Road to Kamakura today**, but I did have a really good time! Kamakura is a 1 hour train ride south towards the ocean from Tokyo and it’s a nice small city – sidewalks so it’s walkable, pretty, and uncrowded. The temples we saw were nestled into the wooded hillsides. This is the first place I’ve been to where I think I could feel comfortable living here.
We got off the train and walked right into Enguku-Ji Temple next door. It was a long series of temple buildings going along towards the back of a canyon. It’s famous for its Buddha tooth! But we couldn’t see it/them – not for public viewing. The best part of this temple for me was the alcove at the back of the canyon with a little altar and flowers and I could hear all sorts of bug noises – buzzing, chirping, etc.
Dennis and I separated from the rest of our party for a couple hours of exploring Kamakura by ourselves. It was very nice to have some time to ourselves and to be on our own time schedule. First stop was a soba noodle lunch at a small roadside restaurant. We had cold soba noodles and little root veggies on top. Dennis observed that the woman serving us (maybe, the owner?) was 70+ years of age. Many people in Japan appear to work into their 70’s (do taxi drivers ever retire?).
Dennis and I separated from the rest of our party for a couple hours of exploring Kamakura by ourselves. It was very nice to have some time to ourselves and to be on our own time schedule. First stop was a soba noodle lunch at a small roadside restaurant. We had cold soba noodles and little root veggies on top. Dennis observed that the woman serving us (maybe, the owner?) was 70+ years of age. Many people in Japan appear to work into their 70’s (do taxi drivers ever retire?).
We then walked to Kencho-Ji Temple. It had 700 year old juniper trees planted from seeds brought over from China. The old, knurled tree trunks made for interesting picture taking. And there were big crows cawing all over the place. We walked to the back of the temple complex and on to a small path that took us into the forest and up the hill. This small trail intersected the Ten-en Trail, a trail system on the ridgeline roughly northeast of Kamakura.
The forest looked and felt more like a jungle than a forest: the foliage was dense and green, trees towered overhead, and many varieties of birds were chirping away. From the ridgeline we could see the surrounding countryside, mostly wooded hills near and far. The late afternoon sun backlit some of the maples and their yellow leaves. We, also, came across some small caves. This was a scenic, interesting, and in some ways unusual hike!
It was great to get lost so quickly, but I got a little nervous about where we were exactly (“where are we?”). Then the trail kept going up and up and became more narrow. But then we came to a wider trail and some white posts indicating trails, and I knew we were on course. We passed some people hiking and all said “konnichiwa” (good day) to us. After about an hour we headed out of the forest/jungle and down the hill to another temple. Along the way we passed a neighborhood of houses nestled in the canyon. It looked like such a nice, peaceful neighborhood to live in. Dennis said something about how this was the “old” Japan he remembered.
We briefly saw Kamakuragu Shrine before catching a taxi to Kotokuin Temple to see Diabutsu, the Great Buddha (I simply instructed the cabbie, in English, to take us to the “Big Buddha”… he understood… no problem).
Diabutsu is such a huge statue (about 65 feet high). Dennis says Daibutsu is a large sculpture, a work of art. The daylight was fading by this time. But, there was enough light left in the sky to illuminate clouds overhead. This made a nice contrast to the green, bronze Buddha. As the sunlight turned to dusk and the lights aimed at the Big Buddha were switched on, we could marvel at the different perspectives this gave to the statue, his face in particular. Chie said that looking at the Buddha made her feel peaceful. Dennis said that the Buddha’s expression appeared to change when viewing it in different light and from different angles.
Before finding a local restaurant for dinner, we visited Tsurogaka Hachimangu Shrine, and it surrounding park, in the middle of downtown Kamakura. It was hard to see most of it since it was dark by then. At dinner, I tried plum wine. It’s pretty sweet stuff. I don’t think I’ll be buying a bottle of plum wine or sake to bring home. …Just not my type of alcoholic drink.
** Reference to old “Road to” movies with Crosby and Hope
1 comment:
Daibutsu is an interesting statue. It was built during the Kamakura era when Hojo Regency ruled Japan and Kamakura was the capitol of Japan. There used to be a temple built around it be it was washed out in a tidal wave during the late 15th century if memory serves. At one time, you can actually go inside the statue but I take it that isn't allow anymore.
Tsurugaka Hachiman Shrine is famous since the third Shogun of the Kamakura era was assassinated there along the steps. He was a powerless shogun but reowned poet in Japan. Maybe you and Dennis spotted a tree with a thick rope tied around it?
Funny that Kamakura is still considered as a "country town" even although by our standard, it pretty well developed.
Did you guys see Mount Fuji from Kamakura?
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