The Temples and Shrines of Kamakura - Part 1

Kamakura is about 45 minutes south of Tokyo and easily reachable by train. Once the capital of Japan during the 1100s, it is now an easy escape from the city, and hoardes of Tokyoites head to the beaches of Kamakura during the hot summer months. During our visit there last weekend, we viewed four temples and shrines as well as Kamakura's most famous landmark, the Daibutsu (大仏) or the Great Buddha. The Daibutsu, which was cast in 1252, was massive: Over 13 meters tall and more than 90 tons, it used to be housed in a temple that was washed away by a tsunami, so now it just sits outside in all of its massive glory. For 20 yen (less than 20 cents), we went inside the statue, but it not so interesting and more to be able to say, "Yeah, we were inside that Buddha!"

Kamakura was interesting in that there were also Japanese tourists visiting there, which was odd. Living in Tokyo, you're used to seeing Japanese at work, going out, etc. so watching them with their own guidebooks and maps was an oddity, particulary when they ask to have their photo taken with ... you of all people. With all the sights in Kamakura, a bunch of us were asked to take photos, and we of course complied. God knows what the captions on those photos will end up being...

We started our trip at Jomyoji Temple, where despite it being pretty cold that day and the middle of February, was still full of lush greenery and zen gardens. We went inside and sat on a heated pad on the porch looking out into the gardens and were served matcha, a powdered green tea used in ceremony. It wasn't the full-fledged tea ceremony with all of its intricate formalities, but we were served a really sweet confection before we sipped the slightly bitter tea.

We were given an explanation about how the tea is prepared before sipped away!

Next to Jomyoji was Hokokuji Temple with yet another Karesansui garden. Also quite peaceful and pretty, particularly with its cliffs and ponds and waterfalls.























Around lunchtime we visited Tsuruoka Hachimangu, the main shrine in Kamakura in the center of town, near all the shops selling the purple sweet potato Kamakura specialties (ice cream, fried potato patties, candy, ramen, etc.) and other things like candy apples, candy grapes (!), candy strawberries. It was a pretty sight, but very crowded, since it was the only shrine/temple that we visited that day that didn't require a small entrance fee of 100 or 200 yen. Visitors climb a series of steps (Rocky-style) to get to the actual temple, but it's definitely worth it to get close and view the intricate woodwork on the buildings as well as the colorful statues encased in glass.