9/11 Kamakura trip!

One thing that makes our stay so wonderful here in Japan are the lovely volunteers. Most of the ones I've met are all so friendly and helpful, and wouldn't hesitate to give you an arm even if you only asked for a hand. They always seem to be organizing some event to make our stay in Japan as worthwhile and fun as possible, and I really, really appreciate all the effort they put into it!

Last Sunday we had another of those events that the volunteers organized. We were going on a day trip to Kamakura, "a city located in Kanagawa, Japan, about 50 km south-south-west of Tokyo" (thanks Wiki, heehee). Kamakura is known for its long history, but if you want to know more about that, just reference good ol' Wiki!

We departed around 9 o'clock in the morning from Shinjuku, and needless to say everyone was a bit sleepy having had to wake up early on a Sunday and all. At least we could look forward to catch some Zs on the one and a half hour train ride. Or not. The train wasn't packed, but there were enough people to consider it crowded. And as Kamakura is a popular tourist spot (even though we were in the wrong season), we had to put up with the crowd almost all throughout our train ride. Fall/winter (which is it?! It's freezing cold outside but the leaves haven't really started changing colors yet, how confusing...) has made its entrance in Japan and the winds were quite strong that day. So happy I brought my new scarf and hat with me, kept me warm for the most of the day. :D

We had to switch trains twice. The one you see above is the Enoshima-den, which is smaller than the normal commuter trains and which runs super closely to residential houses. If the windows were open, you could have stuck your arm out and touched the facade of some of the houses. The train's namesake, Enoshima, is a small island in Kamakura which is really popular during summer for its closeness to Tokyo. I hear that it's THE place to go if you live in Tokyo and want to go for a swim. So anyway, what I wanted to say is that you could see the sea from the train. It was very peaceful and soothing. :D

One of my favorite pictures from the batch, the Kamakura station. Notice the cute little pot with flowers between the rails.

Almost-empty streets in Kamakura. Compared to Tokyo, everything seems so flat. No skyscrapers as far as the eye can reach.

Our first destination was to the beach (not Enoshima) located closeby to the station. Although it was cold, it was nice having some fresh air to breath. It wasn't crowded at all and it felt like we had the whole beach to ourselves.

1. Entering the beach area.
2. It was all empty except for this man walking around.
3. Should have removed that cigarette butt...
4. M is trying to give me something.
5. For some reason, there was this pile of seaweed and seashells (+ this lonely starfish) sitting right in the middle of the beach.

Next, we headed to the main tourist spot in Kamakura, the Koutokuin, where the famous bronze statue of Buddha sits. There was actually an admission fee for this shrine, which is not very surprising perhaps, considering its popularity.

1. Something is peeking up from behind the gates!
2. Amida Buddha.
3. They were holding a Karate performance in the shrine area. Mostly little kids doing waza, but even that looked cool! They were all so synchronized and there was so much power and determination in the moves they made.
4. Time for some board-cracking bäjbä! Most of the kids couldn't do it but made the cutest faces screaming and running around. Everyone just laughed it off. :D I only saw boys having a go at it though, even though there were girls there too.
5. The Buddha, K and I.
6. For a small entrance fee (a symbolic 20 yen) you could go inside the statue. This is the Buddha's empty head we're seeing.
7. It didn't seem like he had had his nose cleaned for a good couple of hundred years, so I did him a favour.
8. International market held at the grounds.

By this time, it had started to rain, so we made a move and rode the bus to the center part of Kamakura to get some food. I had pasta with nasu (eggplants), one of my new favorites!

Our third destination was Tsurugaoka Hachiman-guu, another famous location in Kamakura and said to be the most important shrine of the city.

1. Transparent umbrellas don't seem to be as popular in Kamakura (at least among the tourists) as in Tokyo.
2. Wet and cold.
3. Masks lined up. I've never seen anyone wearing those. Do they sell at all?
4. There were unsually many people, adults as well as kids, dressed in traditional clothing, hmm, how come?
5. Oh, of course, Shichi-Go-San! A festival day and a ritual to celebrate the three and seven year old girls and three and five year old boys. It's actually one of the few occasions where modern Japanese get to wear fancy kimono (the others being Seijin no hi (for people who've turned 20 years old), weddings, funerals and such), so it's no surprise that parents are ready to shell out huge amounts of money for this.

1. Obligatory wedding ceremony picture! But this time, it is a bit different, it's a wedding between a Japanese woman and a caucasian man. The groom is looking right this way. :D
2. Stairway up to the main part of the shrine.
3. Seen from the top.
4. They were holding some kind of ceremony for the shichi-go-san kids, chanting mysterious words and praying.
5. Waiting room for the next batch.

After this, some more volunteers joined up and we were split into two groups, one for going to Enoshima, and the other to yet another shrine. First, I was set on going to the island, but when I heard that the other place was a cool bamboo shrine, I couldn't help but change! It didn't seem to be that far from Tsurugaoka, but the rain made us give up and we decided to go by bus instead. Warm and cozy, almost wanted to just remain in it and see where it took us.

1. Bamboo forest!
2. Haiku post box.
3. More bamboo. As usual, the pictures don't the beauty justice.
4. Seemingly endlessly towering above us. It was starting to get dark so most of the time there wasn't enough light to take decent photographs. In real life though, the hues and colors were much more breathtaking.


1. Touching the bamboo.
2. Silent graveyard hiding behind the forest.
3. There was a teahouse by the end of the road. They were just closing up when we got there so we didn't get to take a rest there.
4. Cave with ornaments.
5. Leaves in pretty colors by the tea house.

Everyone was getting tired, so we decided to call it a day and headed back home. Even though we spent a whole day in Kamakura, I felt like there were lots of things we hadn't seen yet, so I'd love to go back sometime to see the rest of the shrines, eating the huge famous senbei and going to the beach in Enoshima. We'll see about that!