Trip to Kamakura (鎌倉)
About an hour away from Shibuya along the Shonan-Shinjuku railway line, 50 km to the southwest of Tokyo lies the small town of Kamakura. Little known is the fact that it served as the de-facto capital of Japan between 1192 and 1333. Temples and shrines are the main draw, as well as the Daibutsu (大仏Great Buddha).
I got off the train at Kita-Kamakura Station and travelled on foot to Engaku-ji (円覚寺) and Kenchoji (建長寺) before making my way to Kamakura Station in the town. Be prepared for lots of hill climbing if you want to visit these temples, but the view at the top will be refreshing :)
About an hour away from Shibuya along the Shonan-Shinjuku railway line, 50 km to the southwest of Tokyo lies the small town of Kamakura. Little known is the fact that it served as the de-facto capital of Japan between 1192 and 1333. Temples and shrines are the main draw, as well as the Daibutsu (大仏Great Buddha).
I got off the train at Kita-Kamakura Station and travelled on foot to Engaku-ji (円覚寺) and Kenchoji (建長寺) before making my way to Kamakura Station in the town. Be prepared for lots of hill climbing if you want to visit these temples, but the view at the top will be refreshing :)
Near Engoku-ji, I came across some tiny stone buddha statuettes along the roadside. It turns out there was a small exhibition of these statuettes at a Buddhist temple nearby. Look carefully at the left most statuette in the photo below (right), someone placed a stuffed puppy there. XD
Within the compounds of Kenchoji, I came across Shoko Kanazawa's caligraphy exhibition. Shoko (金澤翔子) is a Japanese girl born with Down's Syndrome, which means she was mentally retarded since young. She may be intellectually challenged, but when it comes to Japanese caligraphy, she is a genius. The beauty of her brush strokes never fails to move me. Her success brings hope to those who would give up when faced with seemingly despairing conditions.
(Left: 風神雷神, "God of Wind, God of Thunder";
Right: 如是我闻, "Thus have I heard...",
the standard opening to all Buddhist sermons.
Caligraphy text reads from right to left)
The photos displayed so far are not representative of the actual conditions of that day. During Golden Week, these tourist spots are especially crowded as even the locals come to visit by the droves. I prefer to photograph serene settings, so I wait for the people to pass by before I touch the shutter button on my crappy iPhone cam. The photos below shows a truer picture of Kamakura that day:
Try getting a train ticket from this kind of queue (below left). Good thing I have a Suica card (Super Urban Intelligent card, essentially a stored-value cash card) which facilitates all my rail and subway travels in Japan.
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