Kamakura
So I'd asked my teachers to excuse me from class Wednesday and Thursday so that I could spend time with my sister. I felt a little bad about skipping out on them, but not *too* bad as I generally don't miss class unless I have a "real" reason... which means I don't have to lie about it when I do miss, which is good because I don't like to lie. But anyway, I felt my sister visiting was a "real" reason, and I think/hope they agreed to some extent. It was a good thing I didn't go to class though, because the weather Wednesday (if a little cold) was absolutely beautiful for a day in Kamakura (a beach town with 65 Buddhist temples and 19 Shinto shrines not too far from Tokyo). Unfortunately, we didn't get as early a start as we wanted, but we still had a great day.
The sky and water were glorious, and the wind was so strong that the birds (including several birds of prey) were floating in mid-air. We ate our convenience store lunches (my sister quickly learned to appreciate onigiri and conbini maki) in a park near the shore, then trekked off to find some temples and shrines and maybe even a giant statue of buddha.
The first place we stopped was Hasedera Temple, home to the 11-faced Kannon standing 12 feet tall. Of course I wasn't allowed to take pictures of Kannon, but there was a great view from the bathroom near the entrance.
Tell me that isn't beautifully, stereotypically Japonesque? I bet it was even more amazing at the height of Autumn. (And that was just the view from the bathroom.) On our way up to the main building (where Kannon is), we also passed this little shrine/minor temple/area? (I really don't understand these Buddhist temples - if Buddhism has no actual "deity" who are these statues to whom people pray? Saints? *confused*) housing a ---- who looks after deceased children... or something. Each of these little statues were erected in memory of a lost child (passed away, aborted, etc).
At the top was the Kannon, which was of course very impressive, but I'm not going to bother describing it. Just go to Kamakura yourself. As it was at the top of the hill, there was a nice view of the town as well (the light wasn't very good for pictures, sorry). The coolest part however (besides the whole atmosphere and setting, which is pleasant and calm but not in an untouchable sense, especially since there was a little tomboy tumbling all over herself while running around the complex) was this cave nearby, where more ---- were carved into the walls and little altars for candles were set before them.
As "traditionally Japanese" and "ancient" as it might have seemed to my foreign tourist sensibilities, it was still clearly a place of daily significance in many locals' lives. During our time there, we watched a couple seated before Kannon while the priest read Sutras at their request. We then saw them visit the Deceased-Children's-Protector. And in the caves, a punk kid with wildly dyed hair and ripped clothing came in and quietly lit a candle before one of the images. It's no different from visiting temples in India or Cathedrals in Europe. In all cases I feel like such an intruder. And yet... if you're religious, religion (specifically, your faith) is part of the nitty-gritty of your everyday life, right? So I'm coming to understand that my being there as a tourist may not be good, but it certainly isn't bad.
From Hasedera (incidentally we spent quite a bit of time there, and it was only 300 well-spent yen for entry) we headed a bit north to see the Daibutsu, a very imposing figure nestled in the trees. There was quite a crowd to see the Daibutsu, including what seemed like Japanese school groups, and we were able to view the interior for only 20JPY, which no *person* was collecting (there was just an open box sitting on a stand near the entrance with piles of coins out in the open). Before leaving I bought a "safe traffic" charm for Joy. Hopefully she'll pick it up from my parents house over the holidays.
After leaving the Daibutsu, we tried to follow all the maps we had access to (from the one in our guidebook to the map near the entrance to see the Daibutsu to various maps along the roads and paved *into* the roads) in order to reach the nearest Shinto shrine. Needless to say we never found it, and the sun was setting anyway, so there was really no point in pursuing it further. Near the train station, we stopped at another little temple (squeezed between the post office and some other office building) to which expectant parents go to pray for a safe labor and gave a shout-out for Jumi Ba (due in March). I didn't know then that Devi Ba was also expecting (also due in March), but in my mind I'm giving her a shout-out at Daimyoji too.
We checked a map at the station again for nearby shrines - I really wanted to see the family shrine of the Genji - but it was too far and already too dark. So we aimed down a nearby street in search of dinner and found this cool little place. Though we were at first alarmed by the number of pictures of gaijin outside the place (apparently the Miss International entrees, I mean entries, of some year or other had been entertained there) it was clearly a local haunt with a regular crowd, as we determined from everyone else's behaviour and conversation. My sister had sashimi (having been reprimanded by Jonathan the night before for not eating more sushi) and I had tempura. The tempura here is *so* good. I think I'd had vegetable tempura in the States before and not been all that impressed, but every tempura-ized vegetable I've had here has been delicious.
Speaking of delicious, one of the highlights of the day was a little chocolate shop on the main road. I'd stopped in on our way to Daimyoji and after much debate (as is typical of me) bought and ate a chocolate. After dinner, my sister, craving dessert, led us back there. The shopkeeper laughed to see us come in again, and after my sister finally chose her piece, we were also given a free O-make (present). I guess she (the shopkeeper) thought we were cute. Random acts of kindness are always so surprising and heart-warming.
The sky and water were glorious, and the wind was so strong that the birds (including several birds of prey) were floating in mid-air. We ate our convenience store lunches (my sister quickly learned to appreciate onigiri and conbini maki) in a park near the shore, then trekked off to find some temples and shrines and maybe even a giant statue of buddha.
The first place we stopped was Hasedera Temple, home to the 11-faced Kannon standing 12 feet tall. Of course I wasn't allowed to take pictures of Kannon, but there was a great view from the bathroom near the entrance.
Tell me that isn't beautifully, stereotypically Japonesque? I bet it was even more amazing at the height of Autumn. (And that was just the view from the bathroom.) On our way up to the main building (where Kannon is), we also passed this little shrine/minor temple/area? (I really don't understand these Buddhist temples - if Buddhism has no actual "deity" who are these statues to whom people pray? Saints? *confused*) housing a ---- who looks after deceased children... or something. Each of these little statues were erected in memory of a lost child (passed away, aborted, etc).
At the top was the Kannon, which was of course very impressive, but I'm not going to bother describing it. Just go to Kamakura yourself. As it was at the top of the hill, there was a nice view of the town as well (the light wasn't very good for pictures, sorry). The coolest part however (besides the whole atmosphere and setting, which is pleasant and calm but not in an untouchable sense, especially since there was a little tomboy tumbling all over herself while running around the complex) was this cave nearby, where more ---- were carved into the walls and little altars for candles were set before them.
As "traditionally Japanese" and "ancient" as it might have seemed to my foreign tourist sensibilities, it was still clearly a place of daily significance in many locals' lives. During our time there, we watched a couple seated before Kannon while the priest read Sutras at their request. We then saw them visit the Deceased-Children's-Protector. And in the caves, a punk kid with wildly dyed hair and ripped clothing came in and quietly lit a candle before one of the images. It's no different from visiting temples in India or Cathedrals in Europe. In all cases I feel like such an intruder. And yet... if you're religious, religion (specifically, your faith) is part of the nitty-gritty of your everyday life, right? So I'm coming to understand that my being there as a tourist may not be good, but it certainly isn't bad.
From Hasedera (incidentally we spent quite a bit of time there, and it was only 300 well-spent yen for entry) we headed a bit north to see the Daibutsu, a very imposing figure nestled in the trees. There was quite a crowd to see the Daibutsu, including what seemed like Japanese school groups, and we were able to view the interior for only 20JPY, which no *person* was collecting (there was just an open box sitting on a stand near the entrance with piles of coins out in the open). Before leaving I bought a "safe traffic" charm for Joy. Hopefully she'll pick it up from my parents house over the holidays.
After leaving the Daibutsu, we tried to follow all the maps we had access to (from the one in our guidebook to the map near the entrance to see the Daibutsu to various maps along the roads and paved *into* the roads) in order to reach the nearest Shinto shrine. Needless to say we never found it, and the sun was setting anyway, so there was really no point in pursuing it further. Near the train station, we stopped at another little temple (squeezed between the post office and some other office building) to which expectant parents go to pray for a safe labor and gave a shout-out for Jumi Ba (due in March). I didn't know then that Devi Ba was also expecting (also due in March), but in my mind I'm giving her a shout-out at Daimyoji too.
We checked a map at the station again for nearby shrines - I really wanted to see the family shrine of the Genji - but it was too far and already too dark. So we aimed down a nearby street in search of dinner and found this cool little place. Though we were at first alarmed by the number of pictures of gaijin outside the place (apparently the Miss International entrees, I mean entries, of some year or other had been entertained there) it was clearly a local haunt with a regular crowd, as we determined from everyone else's behaviour and conversation. My sister had sashimi (having been reprimanded by Jonathan the night before for not eating more sushi) and I had tempura. The tempura here is *so* good. I think I'd had vegetable tempura in the States before and not been all that impressed, but every tempura-ized vegetable I've had here has been delicious.
Speaking of delicious, one of the highlights of the day was a little chocolate shop on the main road. I'd stopped in on our way to Daimyoji and after much debate (as is typical of me) bought and ate a chocolate. After dinner, my sister, craving dessert, led us back there. The shopkeeper laughed to see us come in again, and after my sister finally chose her piece, we were also given a free O-make (present). I guess she (the shopkeeper) thought we were cute. Random acts of kindness are always so surprising and heart-warming.
posted by Bibhatsu at 20:37
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