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| The Great Buddha, down the street from the Pretty Darn Good Buddha, two blocks over from the Fair to Middling Buddha, Kamakura, Japan (chimble/flickr.com). |
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| We made it to Japan! Aagghh! (WQ) |
I'm a bit punchy. We just got back from our overnight trip to Kamakura, Japan. We were very fortunate.
Yesterday was cloudy then rainy, but by 10:00 am the clouds broke up and it
turned into a great day. After we visited the Great Buddha, we
hiked over the hills behind it. The two-mile
hike starts with a half-mile non-stop climb of slippery steps
carved into the hillside.
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| Hasedera Temple, Kamakura (Chimble) |
We journeyed on toward two more temples, walking walking at least 10 kilometers for the day, which wouldn't have been so bad if I
weren't so sadly out of shape. I'm getting as plump as Hotei (Budai, the Fat Happy Bodhisattva). I may have great
difficulty moving tomorrow.
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| Miyajima Shrine, 116/365 (Chimble) |
By the way, the amazing patina on the Great Buddha is accidental. It wasn't meant to be left out and subject to inclement weather. Originally, it was housed in a building, which was knocked down
first by a tsunami then, after reconstruction, by a typhoon, they
never got around to erecting a third one. Feeling nostalgic with your own travel photos? Share them at 365 Travel Memories.
VISIT
Kamakura (鎌倉市) city is in Kanagawa Prefecture,
Japan, about 31 miles (50 km) south by southwest outside of Tokyo the capital. Although
Kamakura proper is rather small today, it is often described in history
books as very important. It was a former de facto capital of Japan, the seat of the Shogunate and of the Regency during the Kamakura Period.
It was designated a city in 1939. As of June 2012, the modern city has an estimated population of 174,412 living in a total area of 15 sq. miles (39.6 sq. km). It has a beach which, in combination with its temples and proximity to Tokyo, makes it a popular tourist destination.
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