Day 12: Another Day Trip-- Kamakura:

Day 12: Another Day Trip-- Kamakura:

For the Kamakura trip today I had to get up early to meet the group at 8:30am in front of Big Box at Takadanobaba Station. Yeah I ended up being a little late, but there were many in my group who were too ha. We all gathered around 9am and got on the train to make our way to Kamakura. As a repeat of Yesterday, it was a long train ride. Today I actually fell asleep on the train and my friends had to get me up haha.

I honestly loved Kamakura. We first went to the Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū Shinto ginja,(shrine) which was a wonderful experience. Entering the shrine, we cleansed our hands in the purifying fountain and then made our way to the top of the shrine. I said a prayer and checked out the area grounds. At the shrine they have omiyage you can buy as well as a fortune booth. (Fortune tellers are HUGE here in Japan, as well as astrological readings. Anything to do with determining a person’s luck or what their future holds. When I watch the morning news, they mention todays astrology “forecast”...so cool.) Many people in our group paid to get their fortune. If it is a good fortune then you keep it and if it is not that good, you tie the paper to this hanging wall as a sign of “leaving the misfortune behind” as you leave the shrine. It is quite an interesting concept. The visual of the tied papers is really cool to see.

Once we were finished at the shrine, we had free time to eat lunch and check out the shops. For lunch we went to a cheap delicious udon shop. For lunch my teshyoku was a small bowl of udon, a little tempura, tsukemono and a bowl of rice with very small white fishes on top ( a specialty of the area I think). It was quite an interesting taste but it was good! After that we walked the streets looking at various cute shops. I grabbed a warm manju and others got some murasaki imo (purple sweet potato)/machya ice cream!.

While walking back to the main road we were lucky enough to see a bride and groom decked out in traditional wear and riding on a rickshaw, a man pulled cart. The family dressed in modern style dresses and suits followed them to the shrine. It was a wonderful site to see! We were lucky.

We made our way back to the station to catch a small trolly up to the famous Daibutsu. During that time the rain came in really hard and the wind picked up. Of course out of all the days, today I decided to not bring a jacket! So I was real cold! (In the past 2 days the weather has changed dramatically. I think today marks the actual turning of the season to autumn (Sept. 23rd.)

From the station we walked up to the Daibutsu with our umbrellas as shields. We took pictures with the Daibutsu and checked out the surrounding area. I went inside of the Daibutsu with many other people, squeezing through the small door and steep steps. Visitors are allowed to see what the structure inside looks like and how the Daibutsu was made. It was so cool to experience that! On the walk back the rain stopped a bit. Passing a food cart, I decided to get a stick of warm mitarashi-dango, yummy warm grilled mochi balls with sweet soy sauce. SO GOOD!

I continued to walk the path back to the station to catch up with some group members. We then headed to the ocean to check the beach out. WAY different scene than Hawaii of course--Dark sand and frigid water. Some crazy guys were out in the cold water with full body suits, trying to catch some waves--though there weren’t any that day. This place seems to be a surfing town area or a popular beach scene when the days are nice. There are many beach wear and lifestyle shops and of course Hawai’i themed shops filled with products such as Quicksilver, Hinano, Local Motion, etc. Felt a little like home ha.

After our beach adventure we returned to the station to head back to Takadanobaba station. Another long ride and we were back. I was exhausted honestly. I resorted to getting a cup of coffee with some friends. Then I made my way back home for dinner. Tonight’s dinner was shabushabu and yes that is like one of my favorites so it was super good! Thanks host mom :)

Overall I loved the trip today. I really like the older feel that Kamakura has. It is really beautiful in the way that it captures aspects of older Japan. I also like the spiritual connection and feel that it has there. I also find the atmosphere very chill being next to the ocean...It kind of feels like California or maybe Hawaii. :) --kind of sort of like a Paia in a way. Sweetness!