Tokyo Day 6

Our family divided up today: Eric and I went to Kamakura, a small town 25 miles outside of Tokyo. It is known for its historically significant Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines dating back to the 13th century, and earlier. We first visited the Hasedera Temple, founded in 738. The grounds included vistas of the coastline, and many hydrangeas in bloom.

We walked from one temple to another along with many other tourists, most of whom were Japanese, including many groups of school kids. At the Great Buddha of Kamakura (the second tallest bronze Buddha in Japan), several 10-year old school girls approached me to practice their English - very cute, and ending with them giving me an origami crane.

We also hiked for about an hour (longer than expected) through heavily wooded and hilly terrain. We passed a few other hikers, but it was pretty quiet, save some exotic birds singing. The hike took us to the Zeniarai Bentsen Shrine, where people wash their money believing that if it’s washed in the shrine’s spring it will multiply. We didn’t test it out.

After visiting four of the temples and shrines, we walked through the town of Kamakura and did a little shopping, before enjoying a Korean barbecue dinner and returning to Tokyo for our last night, before heading to Hakone tomorrow.Read more