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| Giant Buddha Statue |
Today was going to be a day full of cultural visits at Kamakura. Kamakura is home to many Buddhist Temples and shrines. Our first train couldn't take us all the way to Kamakura, so we had to transfer to a smaller train that would take us the rest of the way there. Our first stop would be the Great Buddha Statue, which lived up to its name. The statue was about 121 tonnes and 13.35 meters tall (which is about 270,000 pounds and 43.8 feet). The statue is hollow and you could even go inside of it. Getting inside was kind of cramped at first and the staircase was barely big enough for two people to walk up, but it opened up once you got inside. It was really interesting to see the inside of the statue and there was even an informational tablet that explained that, because of the size of the statue, it was built in
different layers and then was put together at the end. While the statue itself was amazing, the outside was also quite beautiful. The landscape was really well taken care of and everything was very peaceful.
Once everyone had time to look around, we all met back up and left the statue. The plan from here was to walk from Kamakura to Kita-Kamakura, while stopping at a shrine and three different temples along the way. The first temple was close by the statue and was absolutely beautiful. The temples themselves had impressive statues inside and were getting a lot of visitors, many of who would pray and then donate some money. Like the landscape at the statue, the outside of the temple was well taken care of. The paths were made by flat stones, the flowers were blooming nicely, and everything was just so calming and peaceful. The next temple was similar to the first, but had many steps that led up to a bigger temple. This temple also had a gift shop where you could purchase trinkets that would give luck in business or even ones that were supposed to make giving birth easier. The view here was spectacular and you were able to get a good look at a nearby bay. The shrine would be our next visit. The shrine itself had many visitors and was impressive, but I think the most interesting part was there was actually a wedding happening while we were there. We noticed the bride and groom getting their pictures taken when we first arrived, but did not realize that the wedding ceremony would actually be taking place soon. The ceremony started as we were all meeting up to leave the shrine, so we stayed and watched it for a while. Unfortunately, since it was all in Japanese, we could not understand what was being said, but it was very interesting to be able to witness something like this, especially since I doubt any of us would have the chance to see a wedding like this back in the United States. Following the shrine was our last temple visit. This temple had a lot less visitors, but this was partially because of how late in the day it was by this point. Also, this temple had a house you could walk through that had a garden in the back. This was not the kind of garden I was expecting though. There was not a bunch of flowers or anything like that, just grass, some trees, and water. However, it all fit together perfectly and sitting at some of the benches and just looking out at this garden was really enjoyable. Sadly, time grew late and it we had to be off to the station to head back to the hotel.
Once we arrived back at the hotel, it was time for our first group discussion in Japan. Most of the discussion was about our initial impressions of Japan and how it compared to Taiwan. Everyone noticed there was some differences, but everyone had really enjoyed themselves since our arrival in Japan. After such a long day though, everyone was really tired and the discussion ended after about thirty minutes. At this point, we had the option to either find dinner by our hotel or go with Dr. Laurence to Shibuya. Shibuya is home to the world's busiest intersection and most of the group decided to go see it. While the day had a lot of walking, being able to see so many famous cultural sites was an experience that none of us regret.
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| Group Picture |
Once everyone had time to look around, we all met back up and left the statue. The plan from here was to walk from Kamakura to Kita-Kamakura, while stopping at a shrine and three different temples along the way. The first temple was close by the statue and was absolutely beautiful. The temples themselves had impressive statues inside and were getting a lot of visitors, many of who would pray and then donate some money. Like the landscape at the statue, the outside of the temple was well taken care of. The paths were made by flat stones, the flowers were blooming nicely, and everything was just so calming and peaceful. The next temple was similar to the first, but had many steps that led up to a bigger temple. This temple also had a gift shop where you could purchase trinkets that would give luck in business or even ones that were supposed to make giving birth easier. The view here was spectacular and you were able to get a good look at a nearby bay. The shrine would be our next visit. The shrine itself had many visitors and was impressive, but I think the most interesting part was there was actually a wedding happening while we were there. We noticed the bride and groom getting their pictures taken when we first arrived, but did not realize that the wedding ceremony would actually be taking place soon. The ceremony started as we were all meeting up to leave the shrine, so we stayed and watched it for a while. Unfortunately, since it was all in Japanese, we could not understand what was being said, but it was very interesting to be able to witness something like this, especially since I doubt any of us would have the chance to see a wedding like this back in the United States. Following the shrine was our last temple visit. This temple had a lot less visitors, but this was partially because of how late in the day it was by this point. Also, this temple had a house you could walk through that had a garden in the back. This was not the kind of garden I was expecting though. There was not a bunch of flowers or anything like that, just grass, some trees, and water. However, it all fit together perfectly and sitting at some of the benches and just looking out at this garden was really enjoyable. Sadly, time grew late and it we had to be off to the station to head back to the hotel.
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