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Published: October 2nd 2017
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This blog covers a day trip I took from Tokyo to Kamakura, a UNESCO World Heritage Site south of Tokyo. The rest of my Tokyo shenanigans are covered in a
separate entry.
On September 29th, I woke up bright and early and made my way to Shinjuku station to catch a train to Kamakura. At Shinjuku station, I witnessed the Tokyo hive mind at work during the rush hour. Shinjuku is the world's busiest train station; hordes of people were coming and going, but they seemed to know exactly what to do to not inconvenience others. Even though the trains were crowded, boarding and disembarkation was orderly. Two different lines operated from the platform I departed from. There were colored lines on the platform floor representing the two routes; commuters knew where to wait in line and how stay out of the way of people disembarking. Lack of spatial and situational awareness is one of my pet peeves about living in Hawaii. Taking the public bus in Honolulu is particularly frustrating; the buses may be crowded but many people refuse to go to the back of the buses and they ignore drivers' pleas to do so. Embarking commuters often crowd the
Hasedera
The main temple. front door making it challenging for disembarking passengers - who can't get to the back door - to get off. Singapore is further along than Honolulu in this respect but it has taken years of cringeworthy courtesy campaigns - with actors demonstrating appropriate behaviors - to get people to behave the right way. Tokyo really appeals to the OCD part of my personality.
The ride itself took about an hour. Departing Shinjuku, the train headed south to Yokohama and then onwards to Kamakura. The landscape remained built up throughout the train ride, but it became less dense further away from Central Tokyo. I disembarked at Kamakura station and followed a sign to an exit with an icon of Kamakura's most famous landmark, the Big Buddha at Kotoku-In Temple. I knew Kotoku-In was some distance from the train station, but the directional signage was poor. I asked for directions a couple of times and I figured I was on the right track because of all the tour buses whizzing by and the shop signs in English.
After a diversion to a hillside shrine, the first tourist sight I came across after more than 30 minutes of walking was Hasedera,
My View At Lunch
At Organic Hemp Cafe on Yuigahama Beach. a large complex of temples set on a hill. The complex was impressive with one main temple and several smaller shrines, including a cave shrine. The views of Kamakura town and its coastline were quite spectacular.
The Big Buddha - also known as
Daibutsu - was close to Hasedera. At 13 meters tall, I expected to see this statue from the street. I was surprised when I came to the entrance gate and still couldn't see it. I guess it was because of how the buildings and streets were oriented in relation to the statue. This bronze Buddha was built in the 13th century and has withstood earthquakes and tsunamis that destroyed the surrounding buildings. The highlight for me was going inside the hollow core of this big guy.
After the Big Buddha, I felt a little peckish and so I started looking for places to eat. I noticed that whitebait appeared to be a seasonal specialty here. I made my way towards Yuigahama Beach and found a cute little organic cafe with a view of the bay. There, I had a donburi with rice, whitebait, other raw fish, and vegetables. I also ordered a delicious homemade ginger
Tsurugaoka Hachimangu
A visually imposing temple, even with those trees on the right blocking the view. ale. After lunch, I wandered around the beachfront a bit before heading to the Yuigahama train station. There, I boarded a local train back to Kamakura station.
Disembarking at Kamakura station, I initially walked around the shopping streets and then found my way to Tsurugaoka Hachimangu, an imposing temple complex. Visually, this temple was stunning as it is set on a hill above a wide stone staircase. I wandered around this temple and its shrines before making my way back down to a parallel shopping street and eventually back to Kamakura station after stopping for a coffee and a wonderful vanilla ice cream. I was templed-out by now so I took the 3.40pm train back to Shinjuku.
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alex waring
Alexander Waring
Japan Inspiration
Gosh, you have indeed been travelling for a while now, what amazing experiences you must be having. I didn't realise Japan was also on your itinerary. This is very inspirational for me as I am currently considering a Japan/South Korea trip next summer. I love the orderliness you mention about Japanese public transport. Sometimes I also wish my fellow commuters in London may be so courteous in terms of disembarking passengers here in London...! I look forward to reading about Tokyo.