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Went to Kamakura today. Since I am once again following in Lena's
footsteps I'll skip all the main attractions, they haven't changed
since two weeks ago, and explanations, Lena is a much better storyteller
than I'll ever make, and just add few touches to her story.
For today I had a very ambitious plan, which I didn't complete
because my back can handle a lot less than my brain wants it to.
So I didn't hit any of the lesser temples in the area. Guess I'll
just have to come back there one day. I had to settle on seeing
all the usual tourist spots, starting with a walk along Dankatsura
(cherry lane that was sadly lacking any trace of cherry blossoms)
to the Hachiman Shrine.
Near the Shrine I ran into a girl from Albuquerque (I easily recognized
a fellow American by the prominently displayed Frommer's guide to
Japan) and she nicely agreed to take my picture, right after I took
hers. We stuck together for the rest of the day too.
All the cherry trees had lost their foliage
already and are looking quite pathetic, but other trees are just
starting to turn and present a very pretty picture.
After taking in the rather colourful surroundings
we slowly made our way to the famous Daibutsu. The back streets
of Kamakura looked rather nice and normally I would have taken pictures
to capture some of the local atmosphere but we were too busy talking
to pay more than passing attention.
The statue of Buddha was impressive and,
as most Japanese attractions, surrounded by hordes of shoole children
out on field trip. Some of those children recognized us as gaijin
(not a difficult task) and came up to practice their English on
us and get some pictures taken while at it.
First three groups we handled rather graciously
but the fourth one received an apologetic but firm 'no' to their
requests of pictures. For some unknown reason most Japanese make
a 'V' sign when taking pictures, so when in Japan - do as Japanese
do :) I just hope they learned that gesture from us and not from
the Brits.
Japanese are very mindful of the footwear
and they made sure their great Buddha has his flip-flops handy if
he decides to go for a walk.
Buddha's insides, which you can see for
mere 20 yen, are a lot less impressive than his outsides :)
After getting our fill of Buddha, we paid
a visit to Hasedera, temple of Goddess of Mercy Kannon. Here, besides
a whole crowd of various deities, I also finally got to see some
blooming flowers that Japanese gardens are famous for. I especially
liked one, which had a strange insect, resembling a cross between
a bumble bee and a hummingbird, hovering over it collecting nectar.
And among the available choice of deities
my attention was attracted by one guy, who was sporting a star of
David instead of the more fashionable in these circles swastika.
Hasedera is densely packed with small halls,
dedicated to various gods, and other useful things.
The Bell Tower:
The Kyozou (sutra archive) with the bookracks
(rinzo), rotating rinzo supposedly earns one the same merit as reading
all the sutras:
Few of the 33 incarnations of Kannon:
One of the Shichifukujin (Seven Lucky Gods):
At the end of the day, thoroughly exhausted
and not having actually seen half of what Kamakura has to offer,
we made our way back to the train station and went our separate
ways.
And this is what I saw much to my surprise
at the train station on the way back:
Complete album: Kamakura |