50km southwest of Tokyo lies the small city of Kamakura (鎌倉市). Once the political capital of Japan during the Kamakura shogunate (a feudal military government), today it’s a great place for a day trip to explore its many small temples and shrines.
![Enoden Train](https://randomwire.com/wp-content/uploads/flickr_backup/8236652097_7390127007_b.jpg)
To get there I took the Odakyu line (小田急江ノ島線) from Shinjuku to Fujisawa, then changed to the old Enoden line (江ノ電) that goes all the way to Kamakura. There is a faster route but this way provides views of Enoshima island and the Shonan coast. Since it was early in the morning most passengers were half-asleep!
![Kamakura Bike](https://randomwire.com/wp-content/uploads/flickr_backup/8236652269_15ed06b1ff_b.jpg)
I got off at Hase Station (長谷駅) and weirdly stumbled across a troop of Japanese bikers and US marines on a sightseeing trip!
![Great Buddha](https://randomwire.com/wp-content/uploads/flickr_backup/8237720802_6f1256a680_b.jpg)
My first stop was Kōtoku-in Temple (高徳院), home to the bronze “Great Buddha” (大仏) statue which is one of the most famous icons of Japan.
![Kōtoku-in Temple](https://randomwire.com/wp-content/uploads/flickr_backup/8236654217_1efecfeee3_b.jpg)
Given the crowds of tourists, I wasn’t all that inclined to stick around – I’d already seen more than my fair share of Buddha statues over the past 5 years.
![Enchanted Woods](https://randomwire.com/wp-content/uploads/flickr_backup/8237722244_7b51f80e78_b.jpg)
To escape the crowds I took to a quiet trail in the woods but even here I got ambushed by a group of school children who wanted to practice their English with me for a school assignment. They asked me a bunch of simple questions which they dutifully wrote down my answers to in their notebooks (“Where are you from? What is your favourite place in Japan?” and so on).
![Autumn in Kamakura](https://randomwire.com/wp-content/uploads/flickr_backup/8237723106_072fe4f43a_b.jpg)
After posing for a photo to provide their teacher evidence (peace symbols all around) I came across a small park where the trees were wearing their full autumn coats.
![Zeniarai Benzaiten Shrine](https://randomwire.com/wp-content/uploads/flickr_backup/8236658863_40647d7c7f_b.jpg)
My short hike through the woods was rewarded by my arrival at Zeniarai-benten Shrine (銭洗弁財天宇賀福神社) which is completely surrounded by high rock walls and can only be accessed through a narrow tunnel in the rock.
![Torii Pathway](https://randomwire.com/wp-content/uploads/flickr_backup/8237723308_4fba1ecb3f_b.jpg)
The shrine has dozens of unpainted torii (Shinto gates), a little different from the usual bright vermilion colour.
![Lucky Sticks](https://randomwire.com/wp-content/uploads/flickr_backup/8237725544_c321f9347e_b.jpg)
Unusually for a Shinto shrine people were also burning incense.
![Zeniarai Benzaiten Cave](https://randomwire.com/wp-content/uploads/flickr_backup/8236657967_50024f20e0_b.jpg)
The most popular area of the shrine is the Okugū (奥宮) cave.
![Money Washing](https://randomwire.com/wp-content/uploads/flickr_backup/8237726212_b58798c459_b.jpg)
In here people wash their money (both coins and paper) in a natural spring which is said to be able to multiply it.
![Small Shrine](https://randomwire.com/wp-content/uploads/flickr_backup/8237726474_b4962acaf4_b.jpg)
How effective it is I don’t know!
![Kaizo-ji Temple](https://randomwire.com/wp-content/uploads/flickr_backup/8236660031_9caa966f79_b.jpg)
My walk next took me to Kaizo-ji Temple (海蔵寺) which legend has it contains a well that is unable to reflect the light of the moon. All very Indiana Jones at this point.
![Prayer](https://randomwire.com/wp-content/uploads/flickr_backup/8237729464_5b8bc5e06e_b.jpg)
A man prays outside the entrance.
![Kaizo-ji Temple](https://randomwire.com/wp-content/uploads/flickr_backup/8236660269_2dcebf0622_b.jpg)
Inside were some traditional wooden buildings with thatched roofs – something I hadn’t seen outside the UK before.
![Kaizo-ji Window](https://randomwire.com/wp-content/uploads/flickr_backup/8236660497_cdfb651c0d_b.jpg)
Each window of the building had a perfectly framed view of the garden outside.
![Kaizo-ji Bell](https://randomwire.com/wp-content/uploads/flickr_backup/8236661425_e425599e06_b.jpg)
A huge bell hangs in silence, begging to disturb the calm.
![Rock Cutting](https://randomwire.com/wp-content/uploads/flickr_backup/8237730118_8642a2b7a8_b.jpg)
On a path around the back of Kaizo-ji I noticed some curious caves carved out of the solid rock face. These turned out to be what are known as yagura (やぐら) – caves dug on the side of hills during the Middle Ages to serve as tombs for high-ranking persons.
![Dark Grotto](https://randomwire.com/wp-content/uploads/flickr_backup/8236662449_6b6b86dae5_b.jpg)
Things like this have a strange way of making me feel very close to the surrounding history – a feeling I have always had most strongly in Japan and places like Kyoto and Kamakura where so much has been preserved the way it has been for centuries.
![Train Crossing](https://randomwire.com/wp-content/uploads/flickr_backup/8236662749_da8d8fee20_b.jpg)
The railway is of course a more modern edition but not without its own audible charms at each level crossing.
![Jufuku-ji Temple](https://randomwire.com/wp-content/uploads/flickr_backup/8237730802_54e055606d_b.jpg)
Walking parallel to the train line I popped into Jufuku-ji Temple (亀谷山金剛寿福禅寺) which has a beautiful avenue leading up to it.
![Jufuku-ji Temple](https://randomwire.com/wp-content/uploads/flickr_backup/8237731544_c7a0a58e91_b.jpg)
The temple isn’t open to the public but you can peer at the main hall through the inner gate.
![Squid Takoyaki](https://randomwire.com/wp-content/uploads/flickr_backup/8237731858_f0c8849819_b.jpg)
After a long morning temple-stalking, I stopped off near Kamakura station for some yummy Takoyaki (たこ焼き). Read more in Part 2.
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