It was very hard planning my trip to Kamakura. The more I read about it, the more I realized there was to see and do, but I did not want to feel rushed and miss things by going too fast. So I decided to go to several of the major sites and really enjoying in detail. I have only been in Japan for a few months. Getting there was surprisingly easy. Taking the subway from Asakusabashi to Sengakuji Station and changing the platform to taking Keikyu Line train in same station to Yokohama than taking the Yokosuka line train the whole way to Kamakura just one hour, the latter was just an hour ride with views of Tokyo Bay on one side and hills on the other. Upon arriving at the station, I've found a tourist map in English and headed to the Tsurugaoka Hachiman Shrine.
Though technically a religious place, the Kamakura Shoguns would conduct a lot of their business there, under the watchful eye of the deity. They prayed to him for success in battle, so it was definitely an important place in the tumultuous past. Now it was an impressive, ornate building on the top of a hill, still showing the power and wealth of the ruling class after so many centuries. It was enjoyable to take my time looking at everything, and at a faster pace probably would have missed a lot. For example, I felt saddened to see a stump by the stairs which had been a ginkgo tree. Stopping to see, I'd found out that it was the site of a famous assassination centuries ago, and that the tree itself was so old and venerable that it was worshiped as having a soul of its own. Upon closer inspection, there were new shoots growing out of it; it was not dead despite having been blown down in a severe storm in 2010.
Kamakura (鎌倉市 Kamakura-shi) is a small coastal town located in Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo. Home to an impressive number of temples, shrines and historical monuments, it makes a good day trip destination if you’re interested in Kamakura’s beautiful architectural heritage. By train, it takes about an hour to get from Tokyo Station to Kamakura Station, or about 30 minutes if you’re leaving from Yokohama Station. The first thing I learnt when I got there was that Kamakura is a surprisingly popular tourist destination. There heaps of people everywhere! It also seemed like a popular school excursion destination. I saw perhaps six or seven large groups of students from different schools wandering the town. But of course, why wouldn’t this place be anything but popular? Lying amid gorgeous wooded hills and dotted with ancient Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines, Kamakura is often called the Kyoto of Eastern Japan.
Kamakura has a great number of historically significant Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines, some of them over a thousand years old. Kotoku-in, a Buddhist temple of the Jōdo-shū sect, is famous for its monumental outdoor bronze Buddha statue. Standing at an impressive 18.35 metres tall, it is the second tallest bronze Buddha statue in Japan. Cast in 1252, the giant Buddha was once housed inside a large temple hall. However, in the 15th century, a tsunami destroyed the temple. The statue managed to survive and has remained outdoors ever since. Another attraction is the main Tsurugaoka Hachimangu shrine. Founded by Minamoto Yoritomo (the first shogun of the Kamakura government), it is said to be the most famous shrine in Kamakura. During the New Year holidays, it is reported that more than a million people visit the shrine every year.
I had a great time walking from place to place, some places were quiet close together which was handy. The next stop was Kencho-Ji Temple. This is the first ranked temple of the five great Zen Temples in Kamakura. The temple was built over five. The Tsurugaoka Hachiman Shrine, Largest Shrine in Kamakura years and completion was in 1253. The Temple founder was Rankei Doryu, a chinese Zen master. The following quote demonstrates the nature of his Zen teaching.
Next stop, Meigetsu-In, by far my favourite thing of the day. It has an amazing garden. There were elderly Japanese men and women sketching in there and beautiful trees and flowers. There is a Moon-shining teahouse, There is a Moon-shining teahouse, what they call a dry garden which expresses the buddhist view of the world. It was founded in 1160 and in 1256 it was chosen as the site for the construction of the Buddhist Temple Saimyoji. It is a place dedicated to Zenkoji worship, which is the main image of Kannon Bodhisattva, the deity of compassion. I stayed here for a long time just walking around and watching the Japanese people sketch. I was a truely beautiful place and I would recommend if you go to Kamakura to visit it.
It is a place dedicated to Zenkoji worship, which is the main image of Kannon Bodhisattva, the deity of compassion. I stayed here for a long time just walking around and watching the Japanese people sketch. I was a truely beautiful place and I would recommend if you go to Kamakura to visit it. By this stage of the day I have spent 4 hours looking at temple and I knew that was it for me on the Temple seen for one day. There were still other temples I wanted to see, so will be going back for that when the weather warms up so I can have a look at the beach. By this stage of the day I have spent 4 hours looking at temple and I knew that was it for me on the Temple seen for one day. There were still other temples I wanted to see, so will be going back for that when the weather warms up so I can have a look at the beach.
There were a lot of people there and my camera was about to go flat so I asked a Japanese man to take a photo for me. After what seemed like an eternity he finally took a photos so I thought but he had just moved around a lot trying to get the perfect shot just to turn the camera off. I didn't have the energy to wait for him to try again. So I found a younger Japanese girl to take a photo, she managed to take the shot but chopped the Buddha's head off. Then my camera completey died. So that's my photo me and the headless Buddha. I thought Japanese people were good at taking photos. I guess not on that day.
After a long day I headed back to the train and got back to my little town of Asabata. I will go again and see the reast of the temples I didnt see and check out the beach there, it is a must I think. Before leaving Kamakura, don’t forget to visit Zeniarai Benten. You will enter through a small tunnel carved into the rockface and there you can wash your money in the shrine. Just why would you wash your money? Because legend says you’ll double it! You’ll find many people washing the five-yen coin as it is considered lucky on its own because “go en” is Japanese for “five yen” and also “fate.” Therefore it’s the most common currency donated at shrines.
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