Kamakura

Kamakura

I've noticed that the Kanagawa prefecture holds some of my favorite places in Japan so far. It's close to the ocean, so the atmosphere is fantastic and it usually smells pretty nice, too... Unless you're on a crowded train on your way to Kamakura. Then it doesn't smell that good. :D

So yes, it was very crowded! But like Danielles do, I took a walk off the beaten paths, while also getting a lot of temple/shrine seeing along the way.

First I stopped by Kenchoji, one of Japan's five big Zen temples started by the Hojo clan. This temple was absolutely beautiful - one of my favorites yet. What really stood out for me was getting near the end of the temple to the Hansobo. The forest mountains and pathways were all lined up with trees, and the steps to get to the top were very steep, proving to be quite the trek. But the view and peacefulness made it all worth it.

Then it was back down and through Kenchoji to my next temple, Tsurugaoka-Hachimangu. This temple seemed to be the tourist's favorite, as it was PACKED with people. As in, there were waiting lines to climb up the steps to the temple, and there were lines to get into the temple, and if you wanted to go into the museum part, you'd have to stand in another line for that. No thank you, said Danielle, and so she took her camera and wandered off someplace else. BUT! The cool thing about this temple was all the candy and sweet stalls they had. I got myself a strawberry candy before taking off.

I walked around the shopping streets of Kamakura for a while (always gotta buy a souvenir) before making my way to Kamakura's Kotokuin Great Buddha. I guess a first-time visitor to Kamakura can't NOT visit this statue. It was - again - very packed with people (guess I picked a popular sight-seeing day), but again, once you got out to the gardens, bought your charms, and took your pictures with the statue, it really became a nice place to relax.

Before leaving Japan, I'll be sure to make another trip to Kamakura (or Kanagawa, at least), so that I can see the hydrangeas. I'm told that if I go around the rainy season, a lot of the temples there have really pretty hydrangeas in bloom.