Day Trip to Kamakura

Today our group caught the 9 am train for the 1-hour ride south of Tokyo to the ancient city of Kamakura. It was chosen as the ancient capital of Japan by the first Shogun in the 12th century. The day was already very hot and humid by the time we arrived.

Our first visit was up into the hills to the Buddhist Zen Temple, Hokokuji. Here one finds the renowned bamboo forests where we escaped from the heat as we strolled past trickling waterfalls, koi ponds and moss covered memorial stones all while listening to birds twitter high in the bamboo trees. It is an ethereal place and unbelievably lovely. We had Matcha tea in the tea house. Matcha is a finely ground powder made from specially cultivated, shade-grown green tea leaves, known for its vibrant green color and unique umami flavor.

Back into the city, we visited the spectacular 11th century Tsurugaoka Hachimangu shrine. The shrine is dedicated to Hachiman, the patron god of the Minamoto family and of the samurai in general. It is very colorful and beautiful, surrounded by lotus flower ponds where the flowers had gone to seed at this time of year.

We strolled down the main street from the shrine stepping into some of the many shops that line the street on both sides and back alleys. Lunch was at a western style burger joint called Junk Heaven. It was good 😊.

Next we visited the Great Buddha, a UNESCO World Heritage site. The bronze statue was cast in 1252, stands 44 feet tall, weighs 100 tons and and was originally covered in gold leaf. However, over the centuries, tsunamis have wiped off the gold and now it has the green color of aged bronze.

Back to Tokyo for the evening and dinner at a nearby teppinyaki restaurant, Isoroku. Our party of six was joined by travel mate, Vanessa from Australia, for an exciting live action dining experience. We weren’t really sure what we were ordering but is was fun and amazing to watch the chef cook on the grill in front of us. It was all delicious and authentically Japanese.