Kamakura Trip!

I live about an hour and fifteen minutes away from the great historical city of Kamakura. I've been meaning to head over there for quite sometime now but Sunday was the first time that I actually got to visit. It was a great experience and I had a fantastic time!
The experience started as soon as I pulled into Fujisawa. From there, I took an old historical electric railline it was really cute and fun!

The train!

While on the train, I got my first glimpse of the sea since I arrived here months ago.

There it is!

My first stop was to go to Kotokuin Temple to see the Great Buddha of Kamakura. This bronze statue is the second largest Buddha statue in Japan. It was originally cast in 1252. I couldn't wait to get it in person. I also heard that Kamakura was very beautiful in the fall so I was looking forward to what the scenery around the statue would look like. It did not disappoint!

Me and the Buddha

The Buddha's slippers

The inside of the statue

After seeing the Great Buddha, I did some shopping for gifts. I also ended up getting some green tea and sweet potato ice cream. I was unsure of how it was going to taste but it was really good! I liked it a lot! W While I was getting the ice cream, the clerk asked me where I was from. I told him that I was American and he pointed towards a picture of President Obama outside of the store dated 11/14/2010. He smiled and told me, "President Obama, okay! Nice!" I smiled and told him that I was from Illinois which is where Obama is from as well and he nearly freaked out! It was so funny. He shouted "Sugoi!" and told the other cashiers that I was from Chicago in quick Japanese and they all shook their heads and agreed that it was very awesome. It was quite the fun little experience. I then headed to another temple on my way back to the train. It was Hasedera, a temple dedicated to the goddess Kannon. I adored this temple. It had beautiful gardens, a fantastic view, and awe inspiring statues. Oh, and an amazingly creepy sacred cave.

The gardens

The temple lit up at night. The colors in front of the temple change.

Sacred cave!

The inside of the cave

The fantastic view

 

It was a fabulous day of exploring which I REALLY needed after a rough week at work. Great way to turn the week around!