Kamakura

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Yesterday was one of the most exhausting, exciting days I have experienced since arriving in Japan, and that is saying a lot, because nearly every day is full to the brim with new experiences, and I always end the day absolutely exhausted.

Anyway, yesterday was the Kamakura day tour. We all went as a class, and some of us were lucky enough to be able to bring our host families with us, if they wanted to come and weren't too busy. I was fortunate enough that my host mother was able to come on the Kamakura tour. The day started out really early, with everyone meeting in Tokyo station at 8:45, and then heading off to Kamakura as a group. I'll try to be brief, but its hard, as there is so much I want to write about. The first train trip with the whole group was a very odd feeling. Since the very first orientation where we met our host families, I have not been in a place with both my host family and my classmates at the same time. Somehow, something felt very strange. Since my host mom was with me, and she speaks very little English, and didn't know anyone else in the group, I made a point to spend most of my time with her, and speak in Japanese. It would have been very rude for me to act otherwise. But it seemed like my classmates didn't realize how they were acting, or didn't care or... maybe I've been imbued with a stronger sense of Japanese "right and wrong" or something. It felt very strange, nonetheless.

The first place we went to was a temple called Engakuji, and it was the place that I was to give my little explanation/presentation. I was a little disappointed, because Ishikawa-san distributed information about all the places we were visiting for the day when we met at Tokyo station, so there was very little I had to say that wasn't on the information sheet. The other students who were to present today were also quite disappointed. But anyway, it was fun. I'm very glad I brought my parasol, as it was so hot. Yes, I admit defeat, and adopted the Japanese style of using a parasol to protect you from the heat and sun. Engakuji was very interesting, and there were lots of beautiful flowers in bloom, so the place was really crowded, because this is prime flower viewing season.

The next place, Tsurugaoka Hachimangu, was my favorite spot of the day. It is another temple, a larger and more important one, and if the grounds weren't nearly as impressive as Engakuji, the activities at Tsurugaoka more than made up for it. During the time we were touring the temple and grounds, we were lucky enough to see not just one, but two traditional Japanese wedding ceremonies. It was really beautiful, magical. My host mom was really excited, too, because it was the first time she had ever seen a traditional wedding, too. That kind of surprised me, but she said that fewer and fewer people are having traditional weddings nowadays, so I guess it makes sense.

After that, I had a lovely lunch with my host mom, which was another highlight of the day. We had broken off from the group to find a beautiful little cafe. It was really fun, and because I was speaking only Japanese, me and my host mom kept getting compliments on how good my Japanese was. It made me feel that my practice may be starting to show some results. After lunch we met up at Kamakura station and headed over to Daibutsu, the "Big Buddha" statue. There wasn't much to see there, except for the statue, of course, but it was fun, even though it was so hot. I got some good photos, and we all headed off as a group to Hase-dera, the last stop of the day.

Hase-dera must have been a close second to Tsurugaoka. The grounds were absolutely gorgeous, and there was even a wonderful view of the ocean! One important thing that I learned at Hase-dera is that I love dango. We had been walking around all day, and I wanted a little snack. Up on the ocean viewing area, there were some vendors. One of them was selling popsicles and dango. I really wanted a popsicle, because it was so hot, but the dango caught my eye. Dango is a mochi rice treat cooked in soy sauce. It sounded kind of weird, but I like mochi, so I decided to try, because I already know what popsicles taste like. It was wonderful. Absolutely wonderful. Within two minutes, I was back for another, to the merriment of the vendors and my host mother, wanting to buy some more.

It wasn't until we were already home that I realized that, even though I brought a parasol to take refuge under, I still managed to get a decent sunburn.

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