On our last full day on board the ship, we came back into Yokohama again, and this time I got a pic of us just clearing the bridge over the harbour by about 5’! Then we headed off in the morning to Kamakura for the Great Buddha, the Hasedera Temple and the Hachimangu Shrine. After a quick train ride from Yokohama to Kamakura we then took an old electric trolley passing so close to houses you could almost reach out and touch them.
JUST clearing the overhead bridge. It seems a lot closer when you see it happen live!
The street leading up to the Great Buddha. We knew were on the right track by the many Buddha flags…and the number of gift shops all along the street.
The Great Buddha (Diabutsu) of Kamakura on the grounds of the Kotokuin Temple. It is the second tallest bronze Buddha statue in Japan. Originally cast in 1252, fires destroyed the temple hall that contained it – it’s now been standing in open air since 1495.
Inside the statue, showing some of the restoration work to support the head.
Don’t know if the windows were added later, or are original to the sculpture, but they did provide us with natural light to see inside.
The entrance to the Hasedera Temple.
The main temple building.
Some of the many, statues found on the grounds. “… home to hundreds of small Jizō statues, placed by parents mourning offspring lost to miscarriage, stillbirth, or abortion. These statues remain in place for about a year, before being removed to make way for more statues; it is estimated that some 50,000 Jizō statues have been placed at Hase-dera since World War II.”
One of the gold statues, surrounded by children’s toys, made for an odd mix of the traditional and modern.
There were many whimsical child-like statues like these guys around the grounds.
The temple is built halfway up Mt. Kamakura, and some great views of the city and bay below.
Common at the various temples we visited were walls for wishes. The tags are purchased, then tied in place.
In contrast to the many other statues, this angry guy seems out of place. I think he’s the god of…extension cords.
A small Japanese garden. And, actually, the only one we saw on our trip.
The busy market street leading up to Hachimangu Shrine.
The steps leading up to the main building of the Hachimangu Shinto Shrine.
On the streets of Kamakura, a woman in traditional dress goes about her day of shopping. We didn’t see many in traditional clothing, but we did see a few.
At this station, the signs were all in Japanese – thank goodness we had help. You see people on their cell phones, but they're not texting - they're trying to figure out the train system.
Our first dish was “Sea Grapes”, a kind of seaweed that burst in your mouth. So good with an Okinawan beer.
Tempura vegetables. On the left is seaweed. The purple is a sweet potato. Behind that are some onions. And on the right, was bitter melon.
Sizzling agedashi tofu. The deep fried tofu was placed in a heated stone bowl, then the soup and mushrooms was poured over top.
A small fish … and I’m not sure what it was. But very nicely presented.
Pork Belly.
Tofu with bitter melon, covered in bonito flakes that were constantly moving from the heat of the dish.
An old Yokohama building (with new changing LED lights) on our way back to the ship.
We had to pack up for our disembarkation the next morning so we never did make it to the Yokohama Cosmo World with it’s giant Ferris Wheel “Cosmo Clock”, but at least I got a pic from the ship.
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