Tokyo - escape from the city
Tuesday was our day to leave Tokyo for a while, and go and explore Kanagawa Prefecture. We spent the day wandering around the temples and quaint streets of Kamakura, and the evening in vibrant Yokohama.
Now, it's not that I'm getting bored of writing about my time in Tokyo, and it's not that I'm actually now starting to forget stuff (ok, well maybe it is!)...but I've decided to have this entry as more of a photo-storyboard, with as few words as I can stand!!
Our first stop of the day was Kamakura's biggest attraction, the great buddha (daibutsu). After a short train ride from central Kamakura, we arrived in the part of the city where the big guy resides (is it disrespectful to call him 'big guy'??). We knew we were in the right spot, as the narrow streets heaved with tour coaches, and each side of the road was filled with dawdling tourists. The temple complex housing the daibutsu was really pretty, and the cherry blossoms were looking at their prettiest next to the beautiful blue sky day. I was quite taken with all the beauty and serenity around me, and I felt very zen!...as this photo shows! All that perfect nature and tranquility was just too much for me!
The daibutsu itself, was really nice too. It's something like the 'biggest sitting, outdoor buddha' in Japan. This country sure does love its superlatives!...to a ridiculous degree! Yes it was quite big, and yes it was quite impressive...but I think I may have become a little blase, as I really wasn't blown over by its magnificence! It was great, but after seeeing loads of buddhas in Thailand, and being overwhelmed by how beautiful they were, anything now that is smaller...and not sparkling gold..just doesn't cut it with me!
We were soon on to the next temple...Hasedera, which contained beautiful gardens, amazing weeping cherry trees, a shrine in a cave, and a stunning view out to sea! We wandered around, ate our lunch overlooking the sea, and posed for many a cherry blossom photo. This temple is apparently a famous one for women, as fertility, good health, and beauty are all wished for here. There were quite a few all-women tour groups, who scurried around (in their matching t-shirts...weird!) between the different rooms.
After some more exploring around central Kamakura, and a few more temple stops, we headed off for Yokohama. There was one main reason I wanted to go to Japan's second largest city....I love ferris wheels! Yokohama's ferris wheel is, or used to be, or might've been (??!!) the world's tallest, and so I was eager to have a ride! We spotted it as soon as we exited the train station, and heaed straight there. We wandered around the adjacent games centre, and waited until darkness had fallen, before we finally got on, and enjoyed the spectacular views from the top of the world! Ok, so I'm exaggerating...but I just love ferris wheels, and I get very excited when I try out a new one! It was great!
This was one of our views from the ferris wheel. The building on the left (Landmark Tower) is apparently the tallest in Japan. There you go, fact fans!
Our final stop of the day was Yokohama's Chinatown. We didn't eat dinner there, as we had heard that the prices were ridiculously high...instead we stopped for yummy tacos on the way! Chinatown was fun and interesting though, and we enjoyed wandering along, past the dim-sum stalls, and the bright red and gold restaurant fronts. Zeenat even managed to find a lovely outfit there in one of the cute little tailors. We got caught in an awful downpour on our way back to the station, but who cares!...we had had another great day, and we still had one more day in Tokyo to go!
Now, it's not that I'm getting bored of writing about my time in Tokyo, and it's not that I'm actually now starting to forget stuff (ok, well maybe it is!)...but I've decided to have this entry as more of a photo-storyboard, with as few words as I can stand!!
Our first stop of the day was Kamakura's biggest attraction, the great buddha (daibutsu). After a short train ride from central Kamakura, we arrived in the part of the city where the big guy resides (is it disrespectful to call him 'big guy'??). We knew we were in the right spot, as the narrow streets heaved with tour coaches, and each side of the road was filled with dawdling tourists. The temple complex housing the daibutsu was really pretty, and the cherry blossoms were looking at their prettiest next to the beautiful blue sky day. I was quite taken with all the beauty and serenity around me, and I felt very zen!...as this photo shows! All that perfect nature and tranquility was just too much for me!
The daibutsu itself, was really nice too. It's something like the 'biggest sitting, outdoor buddha' in Japan. This country sure does love its superlatives!...to a ridiculous degree! Yes it was quite big, and yes it was quite impressive...but I think I may have become a little blase, as I really wasn't blown over by its magnificence! It was great, but after seeeing loads of buddhas in Thailand, and being overwhelmed by how beautiful they were, anything now that is smaller...and not sparkling gold..just doesn't cut it with me!
We were soon on to the next temple...Hasedera, which contained beautiful gardens, amazing weeping cherry trees, a shrine in a cave, and a stunning view out to sea! We wandered around, ate our lunch overlooking the sea, and posed for many a cherry blossom photo. This temple is apparently a famous one for women, as fertility, good health, and beauty are all wished for here. There were quite a few all-women tour groups, who scurried around (in their matching t-shirts...weird!) between the different rooms.
After some more exploring around central Kamakura, and a few more temple stops, we headed off for Yokohama. There was one main reason I wanted to go to Japan's second largest city....I love ferris wheels! Yokohama's ferris wheel is, or used to be, or might've been (??!!) the world's tallest, and so I was eager to have a ride! We spotted it as soon as we exited the train station, and heaed straight there. We wandered around the adjacent games centre, and waited until darkness had fallen, before we finally got on, and enjoyed the spectacular views from the top of the world! Ok, so I'm exaggerating...but I just love ferris wheels, and I get very excited when I try out a new one! It was great!
This was one of our views from the ferris wheel. The building on the left (Landmark Tower) is apparently the tallest in Japan. There you go, fact fans!
Our final stop of the day was Yokohama's Chinatown. We didn't eat dinner there, as we had heard that the prices were ridiculously high...instead we stopped for yummy tacos on the way! Chinatown was fun and interesting though, and we enjoyed wandering along, past the dim-sum stalls, and the bright red and gold restaurant fronts. Zeenat even managed to find a lovely outfit there in one of the cute little tailors. We got caught in an awful downpour on our way back to the station, but who cares!...we had had another great day, and we still had one more day in Tokyo to go!
posted by Lauren @ 4:15 am
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