Day 3 - Day trip to Kamakura and Enoshima beach

We had free train tickets for one more day (thanks Waterford trip!) so we took a day trip. The weather was cool and cloudy -- a great day to be outside.

We got a bit of a late start, though, and hit the peak of rush-hour on the train toward Shinjuku. The girls got to feel what it's like to have more people than you think is possible on your train car... only to watch more get on at each station until you are pretty sure you could just pick up your feet and they would carry you off the train.

See if you can find Angela, Meg, Isa, and Lila in this pic.

We took another train away from Tokyo and the crowd thinned out and we eventually made it to North-Kamakura station. Kamakura was the capital of Japan about 800 years ago and still has several important historical and religious sites and lots of visitors. Despite many school trips to Japan over the last 15 years, I haven't been to Kamakura since I was a wee lad of 2.

We started up a steep mountain path.

And saw turtles at a shrine.

We talked about some of the differences between Shinto Shrines and Buddhist Temples and ended up at Zeniarai Benten shrine which was made holy by Minamoto Yoritomo (super famous if you are a Japanese history nerd) about 800 years ago. It's a spring bubbling up through a cavern in the mountain above Kamakura. It is said that washing money in the waters of the spring will bring many times the value to you as you spend it. The girls washed some money and we will keep everyone posted about the value-add.

After the shrine visit, we walked down the hill and through town to the Daibutsu (Great Buddha), a large outdoor bronze statue.

I have a picture here when I was two. This one is not as cute -- the only question is, who's the bigger Buddha?

After viewing the Daibutsu, we jumped on another train for a short ride along the coast to Enoshima. It's a very small island just off the coast connected to the mainland by a pedestrian bridge. We played in the water and sand and enjoyed the afternoon together (some enjoyed it more energetically than others).....

before the two hour train ride home. (Notice that we are on the "Women Only" car -- which only really applies during morning rush hour, but which was an appropriate bench for these five women.)

We plan to spend the next several days finding adventures closer to home.

皆んな疲れたけど、楽しかった。