Bye Bye Buddha

     "You've been to Kamakura many times but I haven't been yet," said musume chan (daughter). Most guests at the Manor (you know who you are) were escorted on the journey to the seaside town to pay their respects to Daibutsu (Great Buddha). Thirty miles south of Tokyo, one thousand years ago Kamakura served as the capital of nihon and the seat of the shogunate. Over the centuries the population has held steady at about 200,000, which now qualifies it as a suburb. So, without further delay on a rainy day in tsuyu (rainy season), haha to musume (mother and daughter) rode Japan Rail for one hour on a farewell tour.  Tokyo train travel is simple: On the Jorudan Route Finder web site plug in the departure station (Tamachi) and the destination (Kamakura), and voila! A screen offers options at each price point.

     En route we made a brief stop to Engaku-ji in Kita Kamakura (North Kamakura), perhaps the most important Zen Buddhist complex in the country. For a ticket of Y 300 we admired the San Mon (Main Gate), Shari-den (shrine of the Sacred Tooth of Buddha) and climbed up a steep staircase to view the Ohgane (Temple Bell). Europeans swarmed behind us, mainly speaking Italian. Back at the train station a sweet faced lady with a parasol smiled and asked a few questions in nihongo, then recommended the local soba (buckwheat noodles) restaurant.

    Walking from Kamakura eki to Daibutsu for half an hour weaves through a hodgepodge of suburban homes in every style. Some houses would be comfortable in Scarsdale, while some could only make sense in Kamakura. Rain dappled the great bronze Daibutsu sat serenely with a tray of genetically modified fruit upon the altar at his feet. A ticket of Y 200 entitles visitors to pay their respects; for another Y 20 visitors can enter inside his body for a view from the window at the back of his head. At 13 meters he is nearly as tall as the largest Buddha, who resides in Todaiji Temple, Nara. Musume invested in a good luck amulet for good health, haha bought one to avoid calamities before returning on the 3:27 PM Yokuska Train back to the Juban.