Kamakura

hey all,

I just got back from Kamakura. This is a historic town to the south of Tokyo, which contains many famous places. The most famous one is probably Kotoku-in, which has the largest statue of Buddha in all Japan. It is over- and underwhelming at the same time: it is really large and everything, but there is nothing else to see there. Much more interesting is the Hase Dera, which houses a large statue of Kannon, the goddess of Mercy. There is a cave with very low ceilings, forcing you to stoop just to walk around. Inside, there is a statue of some goddess of beauty, I think. The main bulding is up on a hill, and there are several places to look out at the rest of Kamakura and the ocean, and the views are spectacular.



I also went to the Kamakura Literature Museum and Hachiman-gu shrine. The museum was hosting a flower showing, and I decided I'd be Japanese and have a fetish for flowers for a few minutes. Hachiman-gu shrine was my last stop. It was moved to Kamakura by Minamoto no Yorimoto, the founder of the Kamakura shogunate way back in 1191.

A wedding ceremony at Hachiman-gu.

As with my sightseeing trip to Nikko, I bought a few souvenirs at the shrines and temples: a small demon mask at Hase Dera, a pair of geta near Hachiman-gu, a caligraphy brush at Hachiman-gu, and some snacks for my teachers from Kotoku-in. Since I shaved my head a few days ago, I also bought a hat after I noticed my scalp was on fire, but that was a practical item and not really a souvenir.

Cheers