Kamakura

Drew had a three day weekend so we were able to take a little trip to Kamakura on Saturday.  Kamakura is about two hours south of us on the coast.  With it not being too far away, we decided to save the beach for a separate day and spend our time roaming through the various shrines and temples that dot the city.  Here were the highlights:

Great Buddha

Buddha's Shoes

The Great Buddha is made of bronze and stands about 44 feet tall making it the second tallest bronze Buddha statue in Japan.  It was originally housed in the temple building but the building was destroyed by a tsunami in the 15th century.  Quite the sight to see.  They even have his shoes.

Meigetsu-in Temple

This temple is know as "Hydrangea Temple" because of the beautiful gardens on the temple grounds.  It was one of my favorites due to its beautiful hydrangea gardens, bamboo forest, rock gardens, and interesting architecture.

Hiking

In between temples there were hiking paths to take.  It was definitely more my speed and probably only took up about an hour of the day.  My head is up for this hike and Drew is actually behind me.

Soba Lunch

My favorite part, the food!  Drew discovered a soba restaurant for our lunch stop.  It was the first time I had ever tried buckwheat noodles.  Not too shabby.  In Japan it is polite to slurp your noodles.  It says to the cook that you are enjoying your meal.  It's much harder than you think.  We were trying to out slurp the man in the room next to us but we weren't even in the same league.   

Keep slurping!

Zeniarai Benten Shrine

At this shrine people come to wash their money.  This is supposed to make your money double.

Hasedera Temple

This temple stood out because of the hundreds of tiny statues all around the temple grounds.  I read that they are statues of Jizo Bodhisattva who is supposed to help the souls of dead children reach paradise.

Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine

This was noted as Kamakura's most important shrine.  While we were there a wedding ceremony was being performed.

Engakuji Temple

Engakuji is a Zen temple which was founded in 1282.  There was a fantastic dragon painting on the ceiling, as well as an impressive golden gate.  This was our last stop of the day and definitely worth it.