Kamakura Highlights

Kamakura Highlights

On April 7, 2018

In Great Buddha, Japan, Kamakura, Owl, Puppy Cafe, Shiba Inu, Sushi, Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū

We gave ourselves time to relax and recharge after our trip home from Hiroshima Wednesday night. Thursday was dedicated to exploring Kamakura. Dave and I really enjoy walking around and shopping in Kamakura. We were excited to share our favorite spots with our friends. The first stop was at the Great Buddha of Kamakura. We were again lucky to see Sakura still blooming.

By the time we left the Great Buddha, we were ready for some ice cream. Not a problem. In fact, we enjoyed ice cream and croquettes.

We took the train back to Kamakura from Hase and stopped for lunch. We went to the conveyor sushi restaurant Dave and I visited a few weeks ago. We made quite the stack of plates. Strong work for a party of six!

Next up on the itinerary was a stop at the Owl Forest.

During our visit, we found Jennifer’s Patronus (Reference: Harry Potter – aka spirit animal).

Speaking of Harry Potter… We found Hedwig!

We walked up Komachi Dori, the main shopping street, and made our way to The Hachiman-gu Shrine.

We had fun posing by the sake barrels.

Our visit at the Shrine was cut a little short because we had reservations at 5:00pm at the newly opened Shiba inu cafe. Yes, a puppy cafe. In Kamakura. We were beyond excited and it was even more amazing than we imagined. I might need to make a stop here on Friday afternoons after my English class. Because puppies.

After the puppy cafe, we worked our way back home. We stopped for one last picture of Chase and a huge teddy bear at Tully’s Coffee. So, cute!

Local Tourists

By wabisabisole

On February 25, 2018

In Enoshima Island, Enoshima Sea Candle, Japan, Sea Candle, Shinkansen, Shonan Beach, Shrine, Train, Tsuragaoka Hachimangū, Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū

No alarms were set in the Dwyer house Sunday morning. We all agreed that waking up at 2:30am on Saturday morning earned us late sleepers! We eventually made it out of the house mid morning and worked our way to Enoshima Island. To mix it up a little bit, we took the Shonan Monorail train to get to Enoshima. Here was our route from Zushi.

Before tackling the stairs on the island, we stopped for lunch. We were glad to have extra energy. Enoshima Island has a lot of stairs!

Check out the view as we climbed.

Cindy was able to add another stamp to her temple book. While we waited, we had ume blossoms and the fountain to enjoy.

We continued our way to the top of the island. We enjoyed all the selfie spots on the island.

The clouds prevented us from viewing Mt. Fuji. You know what they say… on a clear day…

This might be my favorite picture of the day. Those smiles!

We worked our way down the island and caught the Enoshima Electric train back to Kamakura.

On the way home, I needed to take Cindy to Hachimangū Shrine in Kamakura. This shrine is mandatory on every Julia tour. We skipped it Friday when we were in Kamakura and opted for seeing Sakura. Having a flexible schedule today, we were able to squeeze in a quick visit.

I’ll be honest. My favorite part of the Shrine are the sake barrels.

We were there towards the end of the day. The Shrine wasn’t very crowded, but the light was getting challenging with iPhone.

A few last pictures. The bridge is blocked off because it is only for the Gods to cross. The lighting wasn’t the best, but I love these shots.

As I think about our day, I can’t help but laugh at our reality. We live so incredibly close to so many really cool, beautiful, and iconic parts of Japan. We are very fortunate to have the opportunity to live here. It’s so special to be able to share our experiences and neighborhood with Cindy. Tomorrow we have traveling plans on the Shinkansen! Kyoto or bust!

Lotus

By wabisabisole

On September 1, 2017

In Japan, Shrine, Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū

Warning: for my readers who experience Trypophobia (fear of clusters of holes or bumps) you might want to stop reading. See you tomorrow!

At the Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gu Shrine in Kamakura, there are large lotus plants growing in the ponds.

It wasn’t until I lived in Japan that I understood the complete lifecycle of the lotus plant. Before I lived in Japan, I would have referred to these plants as lily pads. Clearly, they aren’t. Because a lily pad leaf sits on the water and the lotus plant leaves rise above the water.

The ponds were lovely.

I enjoyed walked around the ponds and as I did, I noticed most of the flowers had already bloomed. Only a couple remained.

More prominent are the lotus seed pods. Once you notice them, you can’t stop seeing them.

A couple up close pictures. They are everywhere!

In the U.S., we are used to seeing lotus seed pods dried. Often they are placed in a fall flower arrangement.

Rarely do we see the actual lotus root available for purchase in the produce section of the grocery store.

Or added to your Sushi bento box.

Here is a visual of the lotus plant lifecycle.

I hope you feel complete now that you are more familiar with the lifecycle of the lotus plant. If the lotus seed pod pictures bother you, you might have trypophobia.