Kotokuin Temple, home of the Great Buddha. This is one big dude!
Today we traveled to Yokohama and Kamakura and visited two shrines and a temple. They were all built in the 12th century. They are truly beautiful places, and the cherry blossoms made them all the more so. We were able to hike through the woods from one shrine/temple to another, which provided a nice break from the crowds. Kamakura is a small oceanside town with a bit of a tourist feel. The Yokohama Naval base is less than a half hour away so we saw quite a few servicemen and servicewomen takin gin the sights. Generally speaking the residents of kamakura were a bit cooler toward us than in Tokyo, which might have something to do with the fact that Americans have had a persistent and forceful presence there since US naval forces landed near there more than 150 years ago. Oh, and don't forget that in WWII we bombed Yokohama back into the Stone Age. It was a manufacturing center for Japanese war planes and tanks, and 500 or so of our bombers took it out in May 1945. I think knowing that bit of history made our peaceful visit to the 37-ft tall Great Buddha at the end of the day even more meaningful.
On a lighter note, at one of the teles we entered a small tunnel that the monks had bored into the rock wall and about 25 feet inside we came the the end of the tunnel we came to the end. Watch this video Creepy crawlers in a cave for the rest of the story!
Engaku-Ji Shrine, home of the Buddha's tooth
Seminarian Benzaiten Shrine, where you could bath your money in the spring water for good luck and financial success!
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