Bamboo, Big Buddha and Bathroom that is a Shower

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Glyn asked this morning, "Is it just the one train today?" And I couldn't help but laugh. After the initial mountain bus down to Odawara Station, it's one train to Ofuna, then a shorter one to Kamakura, then a bus, then it gets interesting because we're staying in an Air B'n'B place, a private home and looking at Google Maps, the walk there is not straightforward.

If I was to market this trip, I would called it 'A Taste of Japan': we are running around trying to fit in as much as possible into two weeks, trying every form of transport there is plus seeing parts most tourists usually avoid. That's why we didn't have much time in Hakone - that and getting lost, plus not understanding the place until we got here. You never get to grips with how things work until it's time to leave.

Our hotel in Hakone provided our first free breakfast and I was looking forward to something other than crisps but ended up very disappointed. The offerings were bread rolls and a few soft and sickly pastries, nothing to spread on the bread, not even fake butter. The coffee was ok. We left too early for the shuttle bus and so got to lug luggage up and down mountain roads at 7.30am until finally arriving at the bus stop which claimed the next bus was at 8.37am. Oh. But it turned out the timetable was incorrect and we caught a bus just after 8am, getting to Odawara before 9am.

The next journey was either too short or the line unimportant enough to need reserving and we had to ask a few fellow passengers before we were sure if we had alighted the correct train to Ofuna. I wouldn't have minded if it was wrong as I was super excited to be on a double-decker train!

Kamakura is a seaside town where Japanese come to holiday, so many of the food places are European to cater for them (I presume). We'd booked an Air B'n'B place that is a private home, I'd been drawn to it as they said they were vegetarians with three cats - what's not to like? Well I will tell you, they are on the edge of town and upon asking the ladies in the Tourist Info, they looked most perturbed and asked if our host was coming to pick us up. Fortunately one of the ladies had very good English and advised us to get a bus to the end of the line then maybe get a taxi? She had photocopied some of her map book but it wasn't much help. Fortunately I had screenshot the walking route on Google Maps - a zig zag pattern through residential areas with no particular landmarks. This was going to be fun.... but strangely enough, we got there quite quickly and without any mishap, I really can't believe it - not even now. Naturally much of it was uphill and of course it was hot.

The people of the house had friends with a small child staying so it was all a bit chaotic. I was introduced to one smug ginger cat in the kitchen plus an elderly lady sitting next to her bed which was in the living room, I got the impression she was rather unwell, but still smiled. Where are the other two cats?

One of the reasons for visiting Kamakura (apart from it being a seaside town) was to see the much famed Bamboo Grove of Hokoku-ji Temple, so we asked directions and were pointed up another hill we'd not yet spotted and waved off. Being this was a residential area on the edge of mountain / forest I was rather dubious, but Glyn marched off with purpose and I followed. And then I referred to my screenshots from Google that I took last night suspecting this would happen. It gave us a rough idea to go, and down to luck more than anything else, we came across a main road where a lady at a bus stop pointed us in the right direction - it wasn't very far away at all.

The Hokoku-ji Temple is much like any other temple that I've seen in the last week but the bamboo grove kept me happy. Far tidier and not swarming with bugs like the wild one found in Iwakuni, it was a nice experience walking through them on the stepping stone style path. I tested how bendy the bamboo trunks were - something I've been meaning to do since seeing the sword fighting in a bamboo grove in the film 'House of Flying Daggers'. They are pretty bendy, even the ones with thick trunks and are wired together at the top.

To Glyn's utmost joy and shock, I suggested having lunch today and we found a small cafe across the road. When we sat down I was suspicious as to why they supplied western style cutlery, this was a first since we'd arrived in Japan - what was going on? Then we realised it was a Spanish restaurant - but never mind, it looked good and they served me veggie pasta with pesto and salad. I quickly gave up trying to use chop sticks after making a complete mess of everything.

Two buses got us into the middle of town and back out again. Then another one back in yet again when we realised we'd missed our destination by over four stops. A lad at the bus stop tried to stop us getting on another wrong bus but it took the driver to convince us we'd made a mistake. The lad then put us on the right bus. People are so helpful here; a few minutes later I was looking at the map (again) when an elderly gent tried to find out where we were going so he could help us too. Eventually we made it to the Great Buddha which is exactly what it says on the tin - one big great Buddha statue sitting in the sun posing for loud tourists. Cast in 1252, it is 13.5 metres high and now has shock absorbers despite surviving tidal waves, earthquakes and typhoons. For an extra Y20 each we got to go inside where it is cramped and hot, but not many people I know can say they've been inside a Buddha so worth it for bragging rights I am sure.

The area around the Great Buddha was extremely touristy and so we got a few souvenirs and Italian style ice cream - no I was not tempted at all by prune flavour. Walking towards town we stopped in a couple of Y100 stores which was like a busmans's holiday for Glyn who practically lives in Poundland back at home.

Further down the road we arrived at the beach which was rather messy and surprisingly littered. However, paddling in the cool sea was heaven after the long sweaty walk and we watched locals attempting to surf and for the most, not being very good at it. One old guy was stood upright on the surf board paddling along, baffling me as to how he did that. The beach contained tourists from all over the world, families and school girls taking selfies, plus young people jumping in the air for timed shots to look krazy (yes with a k) on their holidays.

Heading inland, we stopped for tea - yes I know, lunch AND tea all in one day! Plus ice cream - Glyn almost thought he was on holiday and having a good time! This time we made sure it was Japanese by going into a sushi conveyor belt restaurant where traditional music piped over the speakers. It was far more of a relaxed do than the sushi place we loved in Kyoto but still good and full of Japanese, so that makes it authentic in my eyes.

It was getting dark by now and the plan was to walk to the bus station, but somehow we managed to completely walk past it by a long chalk. The problem being that we didn't know the bus numbers, only the bays within the bus station to take them from. So we just carried on walking and walking and eventually got back to the house, tired, sweaty and dirty.

The family were in the middle of eating with their guests and told us to get washed up if needed. I stepped into the bathroom to find the bath full of water - what was going on? I didn't want to steal anyone else's bath but was desperate to wash. I didn't want to disturb the family and got all perturbed until I realised that the entire bathroom was the shower - I think anyway! The plastic floor had a drain and I could shower without disturbing the mysterious bath. Oh that felt so much better!

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