Kamakura

The day after my farewell party I surprisingly enough woke up very thirsty and with a bit of a headache. Since I came to Japan I really haven't been on any sightseeing trips but this weekend my host family had invited my to Kamakura, also known as Little Kyoto. The Yoshimuras is very fond of the place and go there at least once a year. It was the capital of Japan many many years ago and is still filled with old temples and shrines. It is about 1½ hour from Tokyo, so I had a much needed nap in the train after which I was ready for some serious sightseeing. First we had tempura for lunch which is deep fried fish and vegetables with rice and then we went to see a famous temple. There was a wedding ceremony in progress and the bride looked very pretty but very different from a Danish bride.


Big Buddha
After the wedding we went to see a Daibutsu(大仏) which literally means Big Buddha. It was an ancient bronze statue over 13 meter tall placed on a mountain side. It was an impressive sight and it was possible to go into the statue but unfortunately it was closed when we got there. On the back of the statue there was two "windows" with shutters wide open. It almost looked like a family lived there and the mother was airing out the house. I wonder what the rent is on a Daibutsu.... Moved by the greatness of Buddha we moved on to the nearby souvenir shop where we were moved by real size swords, figurines from Japanese cartoons (anime) and all kind of trinkets. They had loads of samurai and ninja weapons and even a few peaces of insanely expensive artifacts. And then there were shurikens (throwing stars) in all shapes and sizes and right next to them a picture of none other than Hatsumi, the greatest ninja master of them all, throwing a shuriken right at the camera. I wouldn't be surprised if that was the photographer's last picture. In Denmark, my good friend Torben studies the school of ninja which Hatsumi leads.