April 1st, I traveled out of Tokyo to Kamakura. One of my stops on any day that is clear is to try to see Mt. Fuji from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government office. Since I will be passing through the area on many days, I was prepared to stop when the day is not cloudy.
I walked to the Mitaka metro station. Such beautiful neighborhoods with a walking and biking friendly culture. It was an enjoyable start to the morning.
This walkway had some cool shops and restaurants.
I arrived at the Shinjuku station. This place is crazy. The majority of the lines go through this station but not all. This is a crazy transportation system. More than 3.5 million people pass through this one station every single day. There are 36 platforms. There are 200 exits. I should have taken a photo, it is impressive.
I followed hallways underneath to get to the Government office exit.
From there I went to the 45th floor of the observation deck. It is a 360 view of Tokyo.
You can just make out Mt. Fuji in the background below.
Here is part of the labeled diagram above the observation window.
I went back to Shinjuku Station to continue travel to Kamakura which is outside of Tokyo.
The Tsurugaoka Hachimangu temple is Kamakura’s most important shrine. It was founded in 1063 but moved here in 1180 by Minamoto Yoritomo, the founder and first shogun of the Kamakura government. This was the original first capitol. The shrine is dedicated to Hachiman, the patron god of that family and of the samurai. You can reach the shrine easily as the road from Kamakura’s waterfront goes through the entire city center to the shrine. You pass multiple red torii gates along the way.
There are places for prayer around the shrine.
There is also a shrine museum once you enter the shrine. There are many beautiful artifacts from the 14th century on. Many 11th and 12th century artifacts are replicas.
This is a replica of Great Armor.
A plaque of Hachinangu from 1629. This plaque was written when Shinto and Buddhist temples were on the same shrine grounds. They have since been separated in the 19th century.
Plaques from poets and a scroll illustrating the procession in a festival.
A small portable shrine.
This is the large walkway to the stairs of the shrine.
At the base of the staircase.
On each side of the main approach to the shrine are two ponds. One pond represents the Minamoto Clan and has three islands, while the other represents the Taira Clan, the Minamoto’s arch rivals, and has four islands.
A walk to the Great Buddha Kamakura took me through well organized and maintained streets. It is a good idea to bring an umbrella as it started to rain. Many merchants came to the front of the shops to sell umbrellas to those in need.
The great Buddha is a national treasure dating from 1252 and took 10 years to build. It is the principle deity. It is 13.4 meters high including the pedestal and weighs 121 tons.
From here it was a short walk to the Kamakura Hasedera temple. Hasedera (長谷寺) is a temple famous for its eleven-headed statue of Kannon, the goddess of mercy. The gilded wooden statue is regarded as one of the largest wooden sculptures in Japan and is in the Kannon-do Hall. It is beautiful but no pictures were allowed. Outside at the entrance:
In the gardens before climbing the stairs to the temple:
The hall that houses the statue:
Remembrances and prayers.
The view from the top is fabulous. This is a seaside town.
A small temple hall in the garden is dedicated to Benten, a goddess of feminine beauty and wealth.
Attached to the hall is the Kannon museum which houses many artifacts. These are the avatars of Kannon and represent the virtues. There are 33 incarnate forms to perform charitable acts. These date from the 15th century.
This is a representation of Kannon and the 11 heads.
The stone tablet of the Hokyoin pagoda and tablet in Sanskrit.
A hanging plaque that would hang outside the original shrine.
More picture around the hall.
A bonsho or temple bell. The original is in the museum.
More pictures from the other side of the gardens below.
Sculptures of Benten and other gods can be found in a small cave (Benten-kutsu) next to the hall.
You can purchase figurines and write blessings on them to leave here.
Finally the rain stopped. I made my way to the beach. Yuigamahama Beach is a sandy beach within Kamakura City that faces toward Sagami Bay. The water was warm but that is because the air was pretty cool. It was nice to walk along this dark sand beach which is crowded in the summer for those escaping Tokyo and Yokohama.
I walked the way back to the train station on the main road. It is very doable to walk all of this if you see able.
On the way I saw a stupa. It was amongst the beautiful landscaping which is everywhere here. It was placed in 1356.
Information about this stupa or remembrance of artifacts of a significant person.
I took the train back but did not pay attention to when the train switched to another line. I traveled around eventually getting off and getting a direct train back. I met some very nice Japanese people including one man who gave me a pack of sesame snacks. We talked a little as he knew little English and I none of Japanese. We looked at each other’s flower pictures on our phones before it was his stop. I am impressed at how they manage emotions but also how well they age. Both men and women here have beautiful faces.
