Kamakura, Day Trip from Tokyo

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About an hour away from Tokyo is Kamakura, a seaside city with beaches, shrines, temples, and forests. A popular attraction is the Kotoku-in Temple’s Great Buddha. With that in mind, I hike a trail, about an hour, that leads me to the Great Buddha. The hike is relatively easy, following these instructions.

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The entrance.
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Shrines along the way.
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View point.
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You can see Mt Fuji from here.
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Nope, can’t see Mt Fuji. Too cloudy.

My initial plan for the afternoon is to check out Enoshima, a small island about an hour away, to catch a glimpse of Mt Fuji. Since it is too cloudy, I veto that idea.

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Bamboos! Apparently Kamakura is a little Kyoto of Kanto. Possibly because of the temples and shrines, the hiking trails and bamboos too?
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Finally, I reach the Great Buddha. ¥200 admission.
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Second tallest after the one in Nara, this Great Buddha is 13 metres tall including the base.
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At one point, the statue was destroyed by an earthquake.
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Photo of the temple after the 1923 earthquake.

Not very far from the temple is the beach. If I recall correctly it is about 10-15 mins walk.

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The beach.

For some reason, I thought Japanese people don’t swim or sunbathe at the beach. I am surprised to see swimmers and surfers. Then again, this is a resort town. If you look closely (at my cover photo) you can also see that it is not a soft, sandy, white beach, but more a grey, packed-sand type of beach.

In the afternoon, instead of heading to Enoshima, I wander the streets of Kamakura, towards Kamakuragu Shrine. What’s unusual about this shrine are the white torii gates.

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Turns out a prince was imprisoned and executed where the shrine is. The shrine was built to hold Prince Morinaga’s spirit.
Full haunting story here

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Not far from here is his grave. I got lost finding it, but after climbing three long sets of stairs, I arrive at his tomb, only to find it gated.

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Probably better that way…

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