Ewens-Downing Adventures in Asia

One we arrived in “downtown” Kamakura Kenji led us down the street toward where the Daibutsu or Big Buddha was. It would have been pretty easy to find the way. Everyone else who got off the train seemed to be going the same direction. We poured into the narrow main street of the town. In the distance I could see our destination.

As you can see, the Big Buddha statue is quite impressive. It is the focal point of a large park area near the center of town in Kamakura. Though you can enter the park for free, to get to the Buddha you have to pay a modest admission fee. Once you pass through the gates a long stone path leads you to the Daibutsu courtyard.

As you approach the statue you get a feeling that the Japanese people hold it in high cultural significance. It has far more cultural meaning and reverence to them than just being a large, interesting statue. Even with the excruciating heat people were buzzing around, jockeying for position, trying to get photos of their friends in front of the statue. So of course we had to do that too.

On the right side of the Buddha was a passage that allowed you to go inside the statue. At the time it sounded like a fun thing to do. However, we forgot to factor-in the extreme heat and the fact that this 93-ton statue is made of metal! We wandered into the extremely tight entrance passage. It was obviously not designed for super-sized gaijin like us. There was a constant stream of people trying to get out as well as people trying to get in. We fumbled through, bumping and sumimasening (”Sorry!”) as best we could. Ron was ahead of me. Once I got inside the main part of the statue he said, “I gotta get out of here… I feel faint.” And for good reason. The inside of the big metal buddha was steamy hot! It was like walking into a big metal sauna! I took a few photos and then began my exit before the heat consumed me too. Getting out wasn’t easy. A swarm of Japanese school girls were screaming and giggling as they made there way up into the statue. Should I be polite and let them pass? I took up 80% of the narrow passage out of the statue. But I really needed to get out of there… So I’m afraid I took the initiative to get through and bumped a few of the girls moving through the dark passage. Their happy bantering turned into shrieks of horror and disgust as I side-swiped whole groups of them, causing them to nearly fall over. Well, better I get out than faint on top of them all, eh?

After our sauna experience in the Buddha we took a timeout to rehydrate and rest in the park. Once we felt up to it we went back down the main street to see what we could find for lunch. After some looking around we decided to eat at a nice family owned soba noodle restaurant. Soba noodles are often served cold. With the hot weather, this dish was just the thing for us. We relaxed in air-conditioned bliss.

We continued our way toward the train station again. Along the way I spied a woman preparing a traditional Japanese sweet in the front window of a little shop. I was just going to use it as a photo opportunity. But Kenji asked if we wanted to try it. Well, why not… We were on vacation after all. We went inside the shop and looked for someone behind the counter to help us.

Eventually the owner (I presume) emerged and asked us in Japanese if he could help us. Kenji ordered-up one of the sweets. We would share it since he said it was very rich. The sweet was pumpkin flavored and quite good. It was a traditional desert that had been made at this little shop for many years. What surprised Ron and I was that after we finished sharing the sweet the shop keeper served us all some hot tea to wash it down.

I’m very glad we stopped at this little shop. It was quite a fun experience to share with Kenji.

We got off the train at a more modern city area in Kamakura. Just near the station we found the main shopping district. Within minutes I zeroed-in on what appeared to be a Totoro and Studio Ghibli store. Totoro is my favorite Japanese animated film by Studio Ghibli, the Japanese Disney-like studio. So of course I had to do some shopping. As it turns-out, this was a flower shop that started selling Ghibli-ware to attract more customers. The shop was quite cramped and small. But it had some fun things. I made due, leaving with a full set of Totoro towels for home.

We continued our walk down the shopping district street. All of a sudden I spied something of interest in a clothing shop window. It was photos of black Shar-pei dogs just like our Jarra. We hadn’t seen any Shar-pei in Japan, so this was a surprise. I ran over and took some photos. One of the photos (on the right) really tugged at our heart strings. We were missing our little Pei quite a bit at that point. I went inside to see if there were any real life Pei to be seen. Kenji spoke with the shop keeper who smiled at our interest. She told Kenji she had three Shar-pei dogs waiting for her at home.

After strolling to the end of the shopping street, we made our way back again. Along the way I found this funny cat statue. I’m not sure what it was doing or what the sign said. But the pose made me smile. We got back to the station and took the next train back toward Yokohama.

Just south-west of Yokohama (which is south-west of Tokyo) is the area known as Kamakura. This is a well-known tourist destination for historic temples and shrines set in the lush mountain forests. Our friend Kenji had volunteered to take us on a day trip there. In Japan most people don’t drive. They take the outstanding public transportation system in their country. So we set off from Yokohama station by train to Kamakura.

Kenji showed Ron how to use the ticket machines. We discovered that almost all of the ticket machines we used had an English button, making purchasing train tickets very simple and straight forward. We got on the train and quickly maneuvered into seats for the ride.

Once we got to the station near the temples and shrines we got off. Even though it was out in the countryside it was still a nice station. It always amazed me to see bicycles just parked near a station with no locks or security. It’s just like that in Japan. Looking down the tracks it looked like a long way back to Yokohama. We began our walk.

We were thinking of taking a trail up through the forest to get to the main part of town. But it was just so stiflingly humid and hot that day, we decided not too. That was a good call. We would have been exhausted if we tried that route in such weather. “Hatsui desu!” (It’s hot!) Instead we went back across the rail tracks to our first sight.

After crossing the railroad tracks again we came upon stairs to a small valley set into the side of the mountain. The forest foliage was lush, green and very beautiful. And with the humidity and heat, all the cicada and crickets were chirping loudly. It reminded me of scenes I had watched in Japanese movies. The sounds of the forest insects were exactly the same. We continued exploring the area. There was so much to see and take in. And with the heat we had to walk at reduced speed.

Once we saw everything to see, we returned to the station and took the train to the town of Kamakura. There we would visit the Big Buddha.