We decided to make Kamakura, about 50 minutes from Shibuya by train, a day-trip. It has an interesting blend of history and style that I had not been aware of previously. Historically, it was a mountainous, sea-side retreat outside Edo for temples. Today it's still a retreat, but as the area was swallowed up by greater metropolitain Tokyo, it now severs as a sea-side weekend destination for Tokyo-ites. Kamakura positivily glows with a laid back surfer mentality and high-class style. The crown jewel of Kamakura is the Great Buddha. Again bronze. The makers also felt motivated to equipped the Buddha with gaint slippers should He feel the need to move around. Lead inside the Great Buddha, Uncle Terry and I were in awe of the structural prowess of ancient Japanese. Footnote: In 1252 a tsunami came quite far up the valley and wiped out the temple covering the statue, leaving only the rock supports Aunt Judy and I rest on, but, attesting to the strength and weight of 121 tonnes of bronze, it didn't budge the statue, leaving the statue open to the elements as we see it today.
Calling Kamakura, "little Kyoto" with its shrines and narrow streets would not seem out of place. We entered Hase shrine almost by chance as we wondered past and its manicured bursting gardens drew us in. It turned out to be quite a find. The garden up the side of the mountain behind the main temple complex was peacefully shaded and offered a great veiw of Kamakura beach and the ocean. The oppurtiunity to enter a real cave shrine on the grounds was also memorable (but didn't offer any good pictures because it was so dark). It was a beautiful spring day, sunny, and neither too hot nor too cold, with all sorts of flowers starting to appear. I couldn't ask for more; but there was!
This tree-lined avenue sits between two roads with traditional shopping on each. With the cherry blossoms just starting, it was crowded with people heading to Kamakura's main shrine. Simple but amazing as the crowd's good mood was infectious. It's worth noting that the streets to my right (out of frame) are narrow and old, dating back to the very beginning of Kamakura itself, and lined with traditional stores offering sweets and ceramics. It offers a very good glimpse into what traditional Kamakura might have been like.
A sampling of pictures from Harajuku on Sunday: A Tokyo institution that's influential nation-wide and offers some of the best people watching in the world. The picture directly about shows the critical JR Yamanoto Line train at Harakuji station. Past the station in the picture is Yayogi Park where we took a break from the dense crowds of Harajuku in the shade of massive cyrpus trees.
These people probably have very normal day jobs but cut loose on Sundays to re-create a 50s motocycle gang - that dances (this is Japanese we're talking about). Sadly, this kind of activity has been in decline by government ordinance since it's peak period around 96 when the whole block would fill with combative sub-culture groups dancing. Harajuku might be the one place Japanese show their rebelliousness with acts like these. I'm also aware the bagpipers also use the park for a practice area. I haven't seen these guys out before and felt lucky to see a true counter-culture experience in Tokyo.
While walking back from Harajuku we decided to follow the JR line to our hotel. It offered a quieter residential look at Tokyo in contrast to the high-energy streets. Though pedestrain and car traffic is down, the high-density architecture does not stop.
There is too much movement at the Tsukiji Fish Market to be caught by my camera. This time we were able to catch the very tail end of the Tuna auction, an event, I was told, whose adminance was highly limited. We followed the other tourists with cameras and walked right in. The rest of the market is open to the public, if one is willing to risk life and limb walking through a huge working fish market.
Best. Sushi. In. The. World. Okay, some readers may want more infomation than this; but perhaps others will think details on raw fish are already too much. If you walk through Tsukiji and like seafood, without doubt at the end you will be hungry. Tucked away in this market the size of a city are many restaurants. The quality is normally very good because the locals eat there. I was looking to revisit a traditional sushi shop that Sean and I had found the year before. Chefs no longer look down on frozen tuna, making un-frozen tuna something of a lost speciality. I had the Meguro (tuna) course for breakfast and $32 got me 8 peices of Heaven. From left to right; two pieces each of meguro, normal tuna; chu-toro, slightly fatty; O-toro, the good stuff from the tuna belly which is very fatty, bordering on creamy and buttery when actually in the mouth. The texture, of course, is beyond reproach, making some Japanese sushi and most foreign sushi seem rubbery and inconsistent in comparison. Lastly there is Aburi-o-toro, where the prime O-toro tuna belly cut is lightly chared with a blow torch. This melts and releases some of the fat, thereafter convincing anyone of tuna's fatty richness supremacy. In addition to this feast, and in an ode to gluttony that normally does not hold me, I ordered their daily recommendation which happened to be O-toro from the Pacific near Spain. That ran me another $5 each for two. It might seem unothodox to eat sushi for breakfast or even under any curcumstances order such expensive sushi, but the same quality and quanity bought in Ginza would bring a considerably higher tab.
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