Kamakura

30 Jul 2021

The Great Buddha – 769 years old and counting…..

Our first journey out of the city took us to Kamakura, which is only about 40 minutes away from Yokohama by train. The minute we stepped off the train Mark said “Wow, it feels totally different here!” and it really did. The origin of this town goes way back to the 1st Century and it was a capital city in Japan for a time.

“The Seated Buddha” above is a massive bronze statue, which sits 36 feet high and weighs 121 tonnes. It dates back to 1252 when construction began and it took around 10 years to complete. Many donations were made by the community at the time to fund the creation of what is now a National treasure. This statue was originally built inside of a building that was apparently destroyed twice by natural forces in the 1300’s. The Giant Buddha now sits under the roof of ever-changing skies and remains exposed to all the elements, which have long since removed the gold leaf it was once adorned with. Impressive to say the least.

There is a constant flow of people coming to witness this sacred place with their own eyes, and hearts I imagine. The light bundles of incense and place them inside the giant burner that sits in front of the statue. Apparently, the smoke from the incense is meant to purify the surrounding area and possibly bring forth various Gods or demons…

The entire area surrounding this Temple is groomed into submission and is beautiful, even in the winter. We have seen many different types of trees that are manicured to look like a Bonsai as you can see below. Very cool idea I plan to try one day! There are small parks and sand gardens with rocky paths that are lined with wooden posts and a thick rope strung from one to the next.

There are areas for meditation and of course, the trashy tourist replica’s for sale right alongside the mighty Buddha himself!
We even spotted his flip-flops, these things are about 5′ tall!

This is one of many (40+) Temples and Shrines in Kamakura. There are also hiking trails throughout the area that we are looking forward to exploring next time. Comes as no surprise that there are many Zen meditation groups in this peaceful place that meet every single day.

The streets leading to and away from the train station are lined with cool restaurants and shops where Mark found some “man cave” relics, he was in heaven!

Bye for now.

Originally From 2014 & 2019




entrepreneurship female entrepreneurs living in Japan

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