Impromptu Kamakura Holiday

On Wednesday I randomly went to Kamakura. I had to get up early to take the rubbish out and couldn't get back to sleep after. I had nothing I had to do that day, and I really couldn't bear the thought of just staying home. But there was nowhere in Tokyo I wanted to go. I realized I hadn't been out of town since I went to Hong Kong - all summer! - and although I will be getting out to go to Korea in a couple weeks, I decided I really needed a little vacation. Life has been pretty stressful lately, and I just needed to relax or else I'd go crazy. So, Kamakura!

As I was transferring in Ikebukuro, I realized it was rush hour and that I was going to end up squished on the train for ages. So I decided to do something I'd never done before and upgrade to the Green Car (like, first class car). It was lovely! Comfy seat and lots of leg room and not being squished in the commuter crush!

When I got to Kamakura, I went to Hase Station to go to Kotoku-in, the temple where the Daibutsu lives. Always nice to visit! There were a bunch of kids on a school trip when I first arrived, but they soon left and then it was pretty empty. I found some places to sit in the shade and enjoyed the peacefulness. I'm not sure how many times I've been there now, but it's always worthwhile. Seeing the Daibutsu always makes me happy.

After Kotoku-in, I decided to go to Hase-dera, a temple right down the street that I had never been to before. It was so fantastic! Beautiful gardens, a lovely view of the city and the sea, super duper kawaii little statues, lovely bamboo, and shady places to sit with a mister to cool off (it was a really hot day, so this was much appreciated). The main event is a statue of Hase Kannon that was so beautiful and peaceful (no pictures allowed and none I can find online do it justice at all). There was also a cave. I do not like caves at all, but it had to do with Benzaiten, my favorite goddess, so I was interested. And the first chamber, with figures chiseled out of the walls, was lovely. It got less lovely when I had to fold in half to get through the passage that went to the next chamber. And even less lovely when the other chambers were really dark and all the people who had been around had vanished and I got creeped out. Anyway, I can't believe I'd never been there before! It was one of the best temples I've visited.

I then set off down the street towards the beach, stopping for Hawaiian lunch on the way. The beach was so nice! The water was the perfect temperature, although I didn't spend much time in it as there were a bunch of little fish right at the edge that kept freaking me out. But it was still lovely to be there, even if I wasn't in the water. The sea is so relaxing!

After getting as much sand off my feet as I could, I left that area and went to Kamakura Station. I walked for aaaaaaaages (or maybe half an hour, but it was ridiculously hot at that point so it felt longer) to Jomyo-ji, another temple I'd never visited. It was a nice temple, very quiet and peaceful since it was so far from a station. There was a lovely tea room and rock garden, but I didn't go there. I walked up the hill behind the temple and found Ishigama Garden Terrace, which was a restaurant and bakery. Enjoy! I needed to go to the ATM, so I wasn't able to enjoy as much as I would have liked (I could only try the free samples of bread instead of actually getting any), but I got an iced cafe au lait and sat on the terrace for ages and enjoyed the garden and cool breeze and cicadas.

I had plans to go walk to a shrine on the other side of the station (would have been another debut), but on the way I heard festival sounds, so I headed towards them instead and found myself at Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gu, the most important shrine in Kamakura (maybe you remember I visited there after New Year's a couple years ago). There was lots of drumming going on, but when I wandered closer to the shrine I found a high school girls' choir and ended up listening to their whole performance. So lovely!

It was too late to visit the other shrine, so I headed back towards the station, enjoying some matcha ice cream and window shopping on the way.

When it was time to head home, the platform was crowded, so I went for Green Car luxury again. No point in ending a lovely and relaxing day by getting annoyed by the train! I bought a sandwich and a beer at a conbini in the station and had a nice journey back to Tokyo.

It was such a nice day and just what I needed. Everything worked out so well all day that it really felt like it was meant to be. 鎌倉が大好き！ I ♥ Kamakura!