Advertisement
Published: April 28th 2024
Kotoku-in Daibutsu
Great Buddha of KamakuraI headed to Kamakura as my last stop in Japan for this trip.
I had earlier planned to visit Hokkaido, but April is not a great time to go, the winter hasn't fully ended nor is it there, so not the best time. I hope to cover it in another trip.
Kamakura is in the Kanagawa prefecture in the Honshu island, a seaside city close to Tokyo.
I stayed at Fujisawa, about 30 minutes by train from Kamakura and rested the first day after a long journey from Takayama.
Next day, I visited Kamakura and my first stop was the Kotoku-in temple, to see the Daibutsu (Giant Buddha).
This Buddha sits in the Amitabha posture, weighs 120 tonnes (made of Bronze) and is 13.5 meters tall. You feel dwarved by the Buddha, but also know that you are in the presence of serenity, a hallowed place. This temple was originally built in the mid 13th century, with the original Buddha being a wooden structure and rebuilt many times as the temple and Buddha had been impacted by storms, tsunamis and earthquakes.
I next headed to the Hasedera Temple, which is famous for its Hydrangeas that
Kotoku-in Daibutsu
Great Buddha of Kamakura bloom in June/July.
The temple gardens were expansive and beautiful and the Benten-Kutsu cave with its Buddha inside were a different experience. I spent a lot of time exploring the gardens and felt this was a lovely way to bring this trip to an end.
Japan for me has been a revelation, it's natural beauty stunning, it's people some of the most disciplined and cultured I have come across. But mostly Japan to me has been a spiritual vibe that I wasn't expecting, I have found lot of peace here without seeking.
Next day I headed to Tokyo and relaxed couple of days there before catching a flight back home to come and vote in the elections.
Till next time.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.059s; Tpl: 0.019s; cc: 12; qc: 27; dbt: 0.0247s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
