Kamakura

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Very small update this time. I've had a rather unpleasant month, spending 2 weeks with a fever, then one week with tonsillitis, followed by a week nursing an allergic reaction to the tonsillitis medication (apparently my body doesn't like penicillin anymore). I've basically spent the month in bed; reading, taking medicine, and eating yogurt. I think I screwed up that punctuation. Japanese doesn't really have punctuation, which can be nice sometimes. But i guess it has similar things. I'm not really sure what I'm saying, so I'll move on.

I ate many litres of yogurt, and am continuing to do so. The Aloe variety is very popular here, and contains small clear chunks of aloe inside, which are quite delicious.

After my fever seemed to be gone, and before noticing that I had tonsillitis, I had about 2 days of false good health. During this time, I went to Kamakura. A famous city about an hour south of Tokyo, known for it's many temples and shrines.

I went during Golden Week, which is one of the biggest holiday times in Japan. It's comprised of 4 unrelated national holiday's taking place over the course of 7 days. Kamakura is a popular place to go during Golden Week, so there was a veritable sea of people. Because of the crowds, I only went to a few of the attractions.

There was a very nice beach in Kamakura. The salty sea air reminded me of home, but I couldn't find any fish and chip stands.

Because of the illnesses, I've delayed my little excursion around Japan for a few weeks.

To answer the question about my Japanese language abilities, I still have a very long way to go. I can understand much of what is said to me, but it may take me a few seconds to process it, and my vocabulary is limited. I can speak if necessary, but I am nervous when doing so, because I do not practice. I am much more comfortable with reading and writing than listening and speaking.

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Photos

Daibutsu 1
This is the Daibutsu (Big Buddha), located in Kamakura. Very popular spot. You can pay 20 yen to go inside, but I didn't bother, because the line was a few hours long.

Daibutsu 5
Ok, last one. I promise.

Beach
The smell was wonderful.

Yogurt billboard
If the container on that billboard was real, I think I ate enough yogurt to fill it.

Vanilla Yogurt
This is some of the best yogurt I've ever had. It has a strong vanilla scent, and tastes almost like pudding. Fantastic. 100 yen for 3, 80g cups. I bought two more packages today.

Apple Roll
An Apple Roll from a famous bakery chain that specializes in cakes. It's hard to tell from the picture, but it's very big. The inside contains large slices of apples and a few raisins. It was soft and luxurious, and only 315 yen.

Chocolate Muffin
Although good, these are really more cupcake than muffin. Muffins, like most bread products in Japan, are very soft. 100 yen for the package.

Watermelon
My first taste of watermelon in Japan. It's not very big, but it was half price, so I splurged. I haven't eaten it yet, but I'm about to. I'm sure it will be delicious.