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We returned to the hotel
and left on a coach (hotel staff waving goodbye, of course)
to travel to Tokyo via Kamakura along the beautiful coast
road. We stopped at a service station to allow the early
risers to get some coffee. We were amazed at the coffee
vending machine which had a camera inside it, and a screen
showed your coffee being ground, the hot water being poured
in and it being dropped into the tray. |
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Great excitement as we saw Mount Fuji rising
above the towns! |
We arrived at lunchtime. Kamakura was Japan's
capital from 1185 until 1333 and therefore has a large number
of temples and shrines. It is an attractive town. We first
visited the Great Buddha (Daibutsu), which was cast in 1252.
It is 13.5m high and survived earthquakes, tidal waves,
fires and typhoons.
Like all the places we visited, there were
dozens of noisy but well-behaved school children there.
Whenever a photo is taken, they make peace signs with their
fingers. |
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We then made our way to
the Hase-dera Temple, approached by a large red bridge.
It was Children's Day, and a number of parents had dressed
their children in traditional clothes to present them to
the temple. |
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We then had time to wander
round the town, do some shopping, and have lunch, after
which we went on to the Hachiman-gu shrine, with its barrels
of saki and chrysanthemums. |
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| Then on to the Hokoku-ji Temple. It was founded
in 1334, and is a place of deep tranquility with its bamboo
grove and gravel garden. We had some green tea and sweets
there. |
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After half
an hour of quietude, we got back on to the coach and were
not really prepared for what Tokyo had to offer a few miles
down the road. |
