Date: 18th October 2024
Travelled: Tokyo to Yokohama
Visited: The Great Buddha of Kamakura and Enoshima
Stayed: Prince Hotel, Yokohama
Budget: 21 days @ $XX per day
We say goodbye to Gotanda (Tokyo) heading south to Kamakura, the traffic is heavy as usual. Some 60 minutes later we arrive at the very touristy village of Kลtoku-in and the Great Buddha. The Buddha stands in the grounds of a temple as you would expect.
The bronze statue of the Buddha is 13.35m high and dates to 1252. There are so many tourist here this morning itโs difficult to take 2 steps without bumping into each other.
On the up side a short walk down the street we find a tat shop full of swords, armour and some very interesting star knives for sale. Bad photo below I know but the proprietor was a no photo type of guy.
Back on the bus and the traffic is even worse. The last 5 km until we cross the causeway on to Enoshima the worst.
Enoshima is an island just off the coast between Hakone and Kamakura as the crow flies. Itโs a touristy place especially for the locals. The island itself has views of Fuji so we are told but itโs too misty during our visit.
Still its an interesting place with its Dragon Shrine and scenery.
It would be quite a hump up the hill if it wasnโt for the 3 long escalators that make it reasonably easy. They cost but are included on our tour. I had the district impression that our guide Serena didnโt fancy walking up that hill either.
Once on the upper level of the headland we wander the various shrines (pictured above) and follow the path and its numerous steps to the Japanese version of a lighthouse and on to the Dragon Shrine (pictured below).
All in all a good cardiac workout. We wander back down to the causeway near our meeting point and have a late lunch of rubbery squid and a drink before meeting up with our group and returning to the bus.
We travel on to Yokohama and our next hotel in the late afternoon. Getting there early enough to have a walk in the daylight and get our bearings so finding somewhere for dinner an hour or so later is a bit easier.
Michael + Pam
