120 tons of bronze lovin'
We headed to Kamakura for a day trip (about 40 minutes or so by train; just a little past Yokohama). The official itinerary of the trip was to explore the old temples and local history but the main draw was all about The Great Buddha of Kamakura. And in this instance, the label of "great" was modest.
First, the big guy (Amita Buddha in this case - important to note since there have been many Buddhas throughout history) is almost 760 years old. And even though he's all about peace, love and understanding this Buddha is no wimp. Being in Japan, he's seen his fair share of earthquakes - not even a dent. The surrounding temples have burned down countless times over the centuries - not a scratch. And most impressive, a tidal wave washed away his temple in 1498 and he didn't even budge. However, he's been sitting outside ever since.
Like most temples; visitors pay respect to their ancestors, offer up gifts of fruit and bathe in the smoke from incense.
After taking a lot of pictures and going inside the Buddha we headed over to Engaku-Ji; an active Zen monastery dating back to the early 1300's. At the top of a hill overlooking town (up a very steep set of stairs) sits the temple bell. The bell is one of Japan's official National Treasures and is only rung on New Year's Day.
Also at the top of the hill is a great little tea shop. We enjoyed some delicious green tea (almost latte-like), light biscuits and a steamy broth mixture of Azuki beans (which are lightly sweetened) and doughy rice. Tasty!
With a great day under our belts, good food in our tummies and a leisurely Saturday night at home in front of us we were pretty content. The day only got better as we learned the secret to unlocking the Green Car seats on the local trains. For only a few hundred Yen you can upgrade your train pass to the magical Green Car status. The main difference is these cars are furnished with comfy reclining seats. All you need to do is enter the train, find an empty seat and scan your Pasmo Card (Tokyo's equivalent to the NYC Metro Card) on the reader above the seat and that seat is all yours.
Mother Nature even got in on the action with a great sunset. Enjoy.
