Strolling through Kamakura （鎌倉市）

This past weekend, I decided to head down to Kamakura to check out a few temples and see the Great Buddha statue.  

I began the venture on the Enoden train line.  The Enoden is an old train which has been running from Fujisawa to Kamakura for more than 100 years.  The train cars are vintage style and may seem a little questionable at first.  The trip takes you through residential areas and finally to the coast where the train passes within view of the water for several miles.  It's quite beautiful.

View from Enoden train

Arrival station - Hase

The first stop for the day was in Hase.  Hase lies only 4.5m above sea level; the beach is a short 5 minutes walk from the station.  It's very much a "beach town" with many quirky shops and what-seemed-like an ice cream shop every 20 feet.  I counted at least 6 in the short 15 min walk to our first temple of the day.

1.  Hase-Kannon Temple

Hase-Kannon temple, also called Hase-dera, is a temple most famous for it's statue of Kannon, the goddess of mercy.  The statue shows Kannon with 11 heads, each representing a characteristic of the goddess.  It stands at 9.18 m (30.1 ft)and is made of wood; it is considered one of the largest wooden sculptures in Japan.  In the adjacent building is a 2.8 m tall golden statue of Yakuyoku (Protector from Evil Spirits) Amida Buddha, one of Kamakura's six principle statues of Amida.  No pictures were allowed inside.

We walked around the temple grounds... It was very peaceful...

And up into the hills.. there were some great views of Sagami Bay and the beach.

There was even a cave, a koi pond, and some cute Buddha statues...

 2. Kōtoku-in Temple (and the Great Buddha)

We walked another 15 minutes up Hase Ave. to reach Kotoku-in Temple where the Daibutsu (大仏), or "Great Buddha," resides.  It is a huge outdoor bronze statue which dates back to 1252 according to temple records.  The statue is approximately 13.35 m (43.8 ft) tall and weighs about 93 tons.  The inside is completely hollow and can be viewed for an additional 20 yen.  

After all the hype, this was really all there was to see at the temple beyond a few other small sculptures and Buddha's slippers.  I did get my co-workers some omiyage (souvenirs) of my trip though - some cute Buddha chocolates.  They got a real laugh from them (also my poorly constructed note in Japanese telling them about the gift).

   
3.  Hōkoku-ji (and the Bamboo Garden)

We moved on from Hase and took the train to Kamakura station.  From there, we grabbed some cheap food for lunch and then took a bus to Jomyoji where Hokoku-ji lies.  The entire temple area is beautifully green.  For a small fee of 200 yen, you can walk through the Bamboo Garden where over 2000 bamboo grow in close quarters.  

Finally, for an extra 500 yen, you can sit in a small area of the forest and enjoy a cup of freshly brewed matcha green tea.  It was warm and delicious.

More pictures from today's adventure can be found at:
- Enoden and Kamakura, various
- Hase-Kannon
- Kotoku-in
- Hokoku-ji