Kama kama kama kama kama Kamakura…
During my time in Tokyo, I’ve rarely ventured out of the city limits meaning that at times, I have felt a little bit like a cooped up chicken. Albeit, one who drinks beer and eats at a copious number of restaurants.. Firstly because my Japanese is still in that phase of, what’s it called? Oh yeah, sucking. Secondly though, Japan is pretty expensive. Eating out is actually really reasonable but the price of transport and hotels compared to other East Asian countries nips at the pockets, to put it mildly. Recently, I wanted to watch some rugby in a neighbouring city, only one hour by bullet train from Tokyo but for a simple day trip – train and match tickets – not including food, transport to the stadium and, of course, beer, it was going to cost me around £130. But, for only a snip at around £14 return, you could visit the lovely seaside town of Kamakura situated in Kanagawa prefecture, also only an hour from Tokyo by slow train. Well, that’s exactly what I did.
Kamakura is the former political centre of Japan so there are many temples, shrines and other attractions as well as being popular as a seaside resort. Kamakura is one of the most densely populated places in terms of temples and shrines, I have ever seen. Just one look at the map of the town and you can’t help but notice the sheer number. Plan for a couple of days if you really want to see them all. Combined with it’s surfer town culture, you could literally bring six generations of a family here and manage to keep everyone entertained. I started off by visiting the beach, meandering past the surf shops and trendy cafes before sitting with my packed lunch and enjoying the sound of the ocean for the first time in a long time. It was a Sunday, so despite it being cloudy, the beach was packed. There are also numerous beach bars similar to the one pictured below for those like myself, who love a beer and a strawberry daiquiri chaser. I then walked up into the town, visiting first, the Goryo Shrine and then Hasedera Temple. The former is dedicated to a brave samurai warrior, whilst the latter displays an eleven-headed Kannon statue – a buddhist statue. Two of the statues were commissioned in 721 AD before one was thrown into the sea. When it returned in 736, it was enshrined in Haedera, now representing compassion, mercy and love. The scale and presentation of the Buddhist statue were particularly impressive, especially in comparison to others that I’ve seen in the past which often look like Charlie from down the street has bought a mould your own Buddha set and painted it, whilst high on acid. There were rather large crowds, however, so if you enjoy the tranquillity of religious locations somewhere like the Goryo Shrine can be a better option.
After visiting the shrine and temple, I decided to go for a very slight change of scenery and visit the Daibutsu Great Buddha of Kamakura. It was only around a ten minute walk from Hasedera and along the way, you can check out local cafes, souvenir shops and even pick up some Great Buddha beer and ice cream. The beer was particularly good – a light tasting black beer, brewed locally – and apparently only available to buy in Kamakura. Hipsters in the audience…come on down! However, it is only about £3 a bottle, depending on where you buy it so seriously, fill your pockets. By the time I reached Daibutsu it was already around 3pm and what had been an overcast day, was now a beautiful summer’s day. Great, you may think, but not for this Ulsterman. To cut a long story short, I got thoroughly sunburnt like the curly potato that I am and even by 3pm, I could feel my skin reddening, tightening and generally pressurising like a cartoon kettle. As a result, I spent most of my time observing the Buddha from the side, draped in the shade of the temple grounds. Half observing how big the thing was and half thinking about which aftersun lotion I would need to buy on my journey home. I read that it’s the second biggest Buddha statue in Japan at around 13m behind one in Nara’s Todaiji Temple, however, I did spot another in Ibaraki prefecture that was similar in size to the Statue of Liberty. Whether this isn’t considered a real Buddhist statue, similar to the knock-off Sphinx or Eiffel Tower replicated in Las Vegas, I don’t know but it was bloody massive. So massive I felt like Godzilla was watching me from across the valley.
After visiting the Great Buddha, I figured it was time to get the hell out of Dodge before I burst into flames, possibly to be spoken of as an ancient myth another 1300 years down the line. On my way back to the station, I picked up some local crisps which are fried in front of you meaning they’re fresh and hot. Seriously, get some! I got matcha salt on top of mine which was strange, new and delicious but there are other toppings such as chilli or garlic to choose from. Finally I stopped off at a shopping street adjacent to the train station and picked up some lovely stuff which I can honestly say I’ve never used again. There are a good selection of street foods and drinks though as well as sweets and desserts so it’s definitely worth having a look!
Check out some more photos from the day, below!
