Kamakura is a train ride away

It was a busy weekend, and this will be a busy week. Saturday I went to Kamakura which at one time long ago was the capital of Japan. There was a Shogunate that was based here starting in 1185. Today it is a sleepy little town outside Tokyo that has many awesome shops which I did not go shopping in. There is also a Shinto Temple that is dedicated to the war god, this shrine is called Hachiman. It was built by that Shogun but had been destroyed several times. Like the last temple (Meiji Temple from last week) there was a wedding in process when we were there. At one point the shrine was a Buddhist and Shinto shrine, but the Buddhist elements were removed about 100 years ago when there was a general separation of Buddhism and Shinto. It was a rather large temple with a really big staircase. It was generally agreed among my group that we should have brought a slinky.

Once again we took another train deeper within the city where there is the big Buddha. If you have ever seen the Japanese version of Ghostbusters two you may have seen this. They cover it with slime and it gets up to defeat Vigo and as a symbol that everyone can rally around spreads very good cheer. Well this Buddha is not as large as the statue of liberty, but it defiantly is big. You can go inside, which was like a sauna in the hot sun. There even was a little concrete area that looked like a steam room, so maybe it is a sauna-like-structure. At these temples you can buy different charms, like the charm for traffic safety and the charm for wisdom. My favorite charm is the charm for a strong leg. I’m afraid to get that one because I don’t know if I need two or not.

Many people know that I love green tea ice cream. In fact I often get people ho see me on the street and say things like, “That guy likes green tea ice cream,” or “You are a mighty and handsome man let me buy you some green tea ice cream, and a pint of Guiness!” Well I found a place that has… Green Tea Soft Serve Ice Cream (GTSSIC). In the hot sun it was a challenge to get it all in my body before it melted all over my hands, feet, and limbs. Not to mention my shirt. I almost succeeded before our next stop, the Buddhist temple, the last few bits fell on the ground, lost and abandoned.

Hase-Dera is the Jodo-sect Buddhist temple that is near the Great Buddha. The garden around the temple was awesome, and I plan on having a garden just like it. The best part was the Sentai-Jizo where there are thousands of statues of Buddha lined up, small doll sized statues and smaller action figure sized statues. Some were dressed up much like the infamous American Geese that can be spotted in some yards. These were much cuter. My theory for the statues was that during Ragnarok the statues would rise up and fight the Terra-Cotta statues in China. I looked it up on the Internet tool (that is all the rage with those young people), and I was wrong. The statues are done for aborted fetuses, and parents dress them up and pray for Jizu to protect the babies in the afterlife. Jizu is the god that protects children. There is awesome a great view of the bay, showing all the beautiful rooftops of homes that actual Japanese people live in.

There is also a money-washing temple where you wash your money. We were hungry and tired which resulted in eating at a hole-in-the-wall restaurant and going home. It was a long tiring day.