Chester & Greta | August 1998

Chester & Greta

Kamakura

Summer is finally here. For our first few months here our coworkers whined about the heat during summer in Japan. Well, I soon realized that most of them were Canadian and well ... Anyway, yes, Japan gets humid. But then again, so does Houston.
The best part of summer is Natsu Yasumi, or summer holiday. G & I weren’t quite sure what we wanted to do. We talked about going to Kyoto but it would require a lot of planning and energy. Plus, after a little research we decided that winter would be a better time to visit there. So instead we decided to make a few day trips around the Kanto.
First up was a few excursions into Tokyo. OK, so we spent most of our time shopping. So what of it! I did take a day to wander around the old neighborhood of Nippori.
Then a friend invited us to a Kamakura day trip. The plan was to spend half a day temple viewing and the other half at the beach. The day was beautiful and sunny and so we ended up spending most of the day at the beach.
Kamakura is a small town situated South of Tokyo along the shoreline. It only takes two and a half hours to reach by train from where we live. It was the capitol of Japan from 1185 to 1336 and home for the Minamoto clan. After control of the country returned to the Emperor the capital was moved back to Kyoto and Kamakura fell into obscurity. Lucky for us that means many of the Buddhist Temples and Shinto Shrines in the town have survived. These days Kamakura is best known for its intense cluster of ancient religious buildings (approximately 600 by one count).
The most famous is the Daibutsu, or giant Buddha statue. It sits on a hill looking out toward the sea. Originally it was housed in a building. But the first building was destroyed by fire and its replacement by a typhoon. So, for the past few hundred years the Buddha has been uncovered.
We began our visit at the Kita Kamakura train station at the North end of town. Immediately across the street from the station is the temple Engaku-Ji, a Zen monastery. This beautiful complex is nestled into a narrow valley with high walls. At the back are several funeral caves carved into the hillsides. The original temple was dedicated approximately 700 years ago. I have read in a couple of books that the complex gets its name from the Engaku-Kyo, or Sutra on Perfect Enlightenment. It is said that when construction on the main temple building began a stone chest was uncovered in the ground and it contained the Engaku-Kyo. Now, none of the books mention any possible scenarios on how this chest could have come to be buried there so your guess is as good as mine.
Also, during a visit in 1298 by the eminent Chinese priest Sogen a perfectly white deer appeared from within the Temple precincts during his sermon. Considering that the Temple is surrounded by high cliff walls this was seen as sign from the gods and as a good omen. During my visit, though, I noticed a small cave marked Hakuroku-do (Cave of White Deer) from which it is believed that the deer might have slid into the complex.
Our next visit was to Meigetsu-In Temple, which I enjoyed very much. It is a small Temple well known for its flower gardens. The major attraction (at the right time of year) is the large number of hydrangea that grow on the grounds. There is also a wonderful rock garden.
My favorite part though was a small Temple within the complex that was set up for tea ceremonies. Though the ceremony wasn’t being performed while we were there you could still stay and relax on the many red felt benches. Shaded by large paper umbrellas. It was the perfect place to sit and relax and just contemplate nature. Of course, there was a friendly cat to pet as well.
The last Temple we visited was Kencho-Ji, which according to the brochure “is the first-ranked of the five great Zen temples of Kamakura, and is the oldest Zen training monastery in Japan.” It was constructed during the 1250s and contains a garden of Juniper trees that are 700 years old.
I must admit that while Kencho-Ji is an impressive Temple the heat of the day was wearing on us and we all starting thinking about the beach. So we took the train down to the main station, grabbed a bite to eat and went to the beach. I must admit that the beach isn’t all that impressive. But it was crowded and everyone seemed to be having a good time. Greta mentioned that it reminded her of what American beaches were like in the 1950s. No boardwalk but there were restaurants, souvenir shops, etc lining the beach.
We looked for a place to stay the night but the dingiest looking hotels we could find wanted an arm and a leg so we hopped the train back to Chiba and were home by 10. What a wonderful way to spend a day.
Nikko

More to come here ...

Chester & Greta
Kamakura Summer is finally here. For our first few months here our coworkers whined about the heat during summer in Japan. Well, I soon realized that most of them were Canadian and well ... Anyway, yes, Japan gets humid. But then again, so does Houston. The best part of summer is Natsu Yasumi, or summer holiday. G & I weren’t quite sure what we wanted to do. We talked about going to Kyoto but it would require a lot of planning and energy. Plus, after a little research we decided that winter would be a better time to visit there. So instead we decided to make a few day trips around the Kanto. First up was a few excursions into Tokyo. OK, so we spent most of our time shopping. So what of it! I did take a day to wander around the old neighborhood of Nippori. Then a friend invited us to a Kamakura day trip. The plan was to spend half a day temple viewing and the other half at the beach. The day was beautiful and sunny and so we ended up spending most of the day at the beach. Kamakura is a small town situated South of Tokyo along the shoreline. It only takes two and a half hours to reach by train from where we live. It was the capitol of Japan from 1185 to 1336 and home for the Minamoto clan. After control of the country returned to the Emperor the capital was moved back to Kyoto and Kamakura fell into obscurity. Lucky for us that means many of the Buddhist Temples and Shinto Shrines in the town have survived. These days Kamakura is best known for its intense cluster of ancient religious buildings (approximately 600 by one count). The most famous is the Daibutsu, or giant Buddha statue. It sits on a hill looking out toward the sea. Originally it was housed in a building. But the first building was destroyed by fire and its replacement by a typhoon. So, for the past few hundred years the Buddha has been uncovered. We began our visit at the Kita Kamakura train station at the North end of town. Immediately across the street from the station is the temple Engaku-Ji, a Zen monastery. This beautiful complex is nestled into a narrow valley with high walls. At the back are several funeral caves carved into the hillsides. The original temple was dedicated approximately 700 years ago. I have read in a couple of books that the complex gets its name from the Engaku-Kyo, or Sutra on Perfect Enlightenment. It is said that when construction on the main temple building began a stone chest was uncovered in the ground and it contained the Engaku-Kyo. Now, none of the books mention any possible scenarios on how this chest could have come to be buried there so your guess is as good as mine. Also, during a visit in 1298 by the eminent Chinese priest Sogen a perfectly white deer appeared from within the Temple precincts during his sermon. Considering that the Temple is surrounded by high cliff walls this was seen as sign from the gods and as a good omen. During my visit, though, I noticed a small cave marked Hakuroku-do (Cave of White Deer) from which it is believed that the deer might have slid into the complex. Our next visit was to Meigetsu-In Temple, which I enjoyed very much. It is a small Temple well known for its flower gardens. The major attraction (at the right time of year) is the large number of hydrangea that grow on the grounds. There is also a wonderful rock garden. My favorite part though was a small Temple within the complex that was set up for tea ceremonies. Though the ceremony wasn’t being performed while we were there you could still stay and relax on the many red felt benches. Shaded by large paper umbrellas. It was the perfect place to sit and relax and just contemplate nature. Of course, there was a friendly cat to pet as well. The last Temple we visited was Kencho-Ji, which according to the brochure “is the first-ranked of the five great Zen temples of Kamakura, and is the oldest Zen training monastery in Japan.” It was constructed during the 1250s and contains a garden of Juniper trees that are 700 years old. I must admit that while Kencho-Ji is an impressive Temple the heat of the day was wearing on us and we all starting thinking about the beach. So we took the train down to the main station, grabbed a bite to eat and went to the beach. I must admit that the beach isn’t all that impressive. But it was crowded and everyone seemed to be having a good time. Greta mentioned that it reminded her of what American beaches were like in the 1950s. No boardwalk but there were restaurants, souvenir shops, etc lining the beach. We looked for a place to stay the night but the dingiest looking hotels we could find wanted an arm and a leg so we hopped the train back to Chiba and were home by 10. What a wonderful way to spend a day. Nikko More to come here ...