Kamakura 15.07

Kamakura on üks Jaapani endistest pealinnadest asudes Tokyost lõunas, rongiga tunniajase sõidu kaugusel. Panin selle suht kohe reisikavva oma suure Buddha ja matcha tseremoonia pärast. Lisaks, Kamakura asub ookeani rannikul ja seal on liivarand. Pärast Kamakuras käimist avastasin, et linn jättis väga südamliku mulje ja Hasedera tempel oli terve reisi vältel üks mu lemmikuid. 

Rongijaamast 10-minutilise bussisõidu kaugusel asub budistlik Kotoku-in tempel, mille märgisutust nägime kohe bussilt maha tulles. Lühike allee viis meid värava ja piletikassani (300 + 50 jeeni, vastavalt sissepääs ja Buddha sees käimine, ca 2.22 eurot). 

Kotoku-in templis asub Jaapani suuruselt teine, pronksist istuv Suur Buddha, mis on üks ikoonilisi märke Jaapanis. Kamakura Daibutsu on koos alusega 13.35 meetrit kõrge ning kaalub umbes 100 tonni. Kuju on seest tühi ning seda ümbritsesid kunagi templimüürid, kuid alates 15. sajandist on kuju paiknenud lageda taeva all. Loomulikult käisime kuju sees, kuigi ega seal midagi vaadata ei ole. 

Traditsiooniliselt oli templi seinte vahel võimalik osta talismane ja suveniire. 

Kotoku-in templist poole kilomeetri kaugusele jääb Hasedera tempel, kus paikneb Jaapani üks suurimaid puidust Buddha kujusid, keda aga ei lubatud pildistada. Tegelikult ei võinud paljude templite sisemuses pilte teha. Hasedera kompleksi sissepääs 400 jeeni + 300 jeeni Buddha kuju saali külastuse eest. Hasedera hooned paiknevad kahel tasandil ja ümbritsetud kauni aiaga. 

Templi aias on sadu väikeseid Jizo (laste ja reisijate kaitsejumalus) kujukesi, kes on templisse toodud leinavate vanemate poolt. Kuigi kujukesed kurva alatooniga, on need osaliselt samblaga kaetud kujud kuidagi rahustavad. 

Templites on võimalik raha eest soove ja palveid kirja panna. Hasederas olid need austri karpidel erinevalt rohkem levinud puidust alustele. 

Kahjuks ei olnud võimalus hortensiate aias keset õitemerd jalutada, kuna hortensiad olid juba õitsenud. Küll aga avanes vaade rannale. Lisaks käisime Hasedera kompleksis asuvas lühikeses koopas, mis on pühendatud Benzaitenile (ehk Bentenile), kõige voolava jumalus (vesi, muusika, kunst, armastus, tarkus, teadmised) ja ainuke naissoost Jaapani Seitsme õnne jumaluse hulka kuuluv olend.  

Lõunasöögiks olin otsinud ühe sussikoha aga millegipärast oli see kas suletud või olid nad oma sissepääsu väga hästi maskeerinud. Õnneks toidukohtadest puudust ei olnud ning potsatasime üle tee asuvasse hiinakasse 味楽, kus nautisime järjekordset raamenit. Ja koolat. 

Jaapanis suletakse templid (ja erinevad muud asutused) vahemikus16st kuni 18ni. Esialgu oli plaanis kõigepealt rannapeatus teha aga kiirustamise vältimiseks võtsime hoopis kohad sisse bussipeatuses ning sõitsime päeva kolmandasse ja jälle täiesti omanäolisesse buddha templisse, Hokokujisse. Hokoku-ji lisasin reisikavva oma bambuseaia ja matcha tseremoonia pärast. 

Võrreldes külastatutega on Hokoku-ji tempel päris tagasihoidik aga nagu mainitud, nende reklaamiartikkel on bambus ja tee (külastus 300 + matcha 600 jeeni). Bambus on üks lahe puu. Nad on nii peenikesed aga samas ülipikad. 

Teetseremoonia jaoks seisime järjekorras, näitasime oma pileti ette ja istusime järjekorras. Vaatega bambusaiale asus laud, mille taga võis igaüks teoreetiliselt istuda nii kaua kui soovis. Inimese kohta kauss teed ja kaks magusat kommi, sest matcha on päris mõru. Hoolimata sellest, et keegi kedagi ära ei ajanud on teadmine, et teised seisavad järjekorras ja ootavad, millal sa lõpetad. Igatahes, õige matcha ka ära proovitud ja edasi (tegelikult küll tagasi) randa. 

Kui reisi kokku pannes tuli Kamakura plaani, avastasin, et seal on täiesti korralik rand. 

Yuigahama rand nimelt. Erinevalt USA läänekaldast on Jaapani äärne Vaikne ookean (täpsemalt Segami laht) soe. Loomulikult läheme randa. Ja mida mina reisile kaasa ei võtnud? Seega, ema käis suplemas ja mina sain ainult jalgu leotada. Vesi oli niiii mega soe. Ja lained. Ja minu mälu. 

Tagasiminekuks istekohti me ei broneerinud ja otseselt kiiret ka ei olnud, seega tutvusime Kamakura suveniiride tänava, Komachi-doriga. Ema leidis kodustele igasugust nänni. Sõime muffineid (mis ei maitsenud üldse nii head kui välja nägid). Kuna muffinid olid meh, siis mõtlesime ära proovida dango. Siis ma muidugi selle nime ei teadnud aga paljud sõid pulga otsas isuäratava välimusega pallikesi, mille nimi on siis dango. Heh, ühest ampsust mina kaugemale ei saanud. Need on mingist riisjahust, mis on segatud mingi riisijahuga, mis omakorda on segatud mingi riisijahuga. Pallidele pannakse peale igasugu kasteid aga see pall ise on veniv ja üldse mitte edasi sööma kutsuv😁

Cola

Kuna lõuna suss jäi ära, proovisime ära praktiliselt meie majutuse kõrval oleva sussikoha. Alguses tahtsime valest uksest sisse tungida, kuid siis leidsime õige sissepääsu. Inimesed paigutati eraldi putkadesse, privaatsuse suurendamiseks kardin ees. Väga huvitav läbipaistev koka. Suss oli etteantud komplektis ja maksis reisi kõige rohkem (2500 jeeni nägu). Magustoit ei kannata kriitikat. Anyway. Kuna järgmine päev algas varakult ja Nishitetsu Inn Shinjuku ei olnud valmis hommikusöögi pakki kaasa andma, shoppasime veel hommikusööki ja nii päev lõppeski. Tore, et jõudsime kõik ära vaadata, mis päevaks plaanis oli.

Kamakura is one of Japan's ancient capitals, located south of Tokyo, only an hour's train ride away. I added Kamakura to our itinerary almost from the start because of its Great Buddha and matcha ceremony. Additionally, Kamakura has a coastline and a sandy beach. For some reason, Kamakura was actually one of my favourite destinations in Japan and so was Hasedera Temple. 

Our first visit was to the Buddhist temple Kotoku-in, which is a 10-minute bus ride from Kamakura Station. Kotoku-in is well sign-posted from the bus stop. A short alley led us to the gate and the ticket office (300 + 50 yen, entrance and going inside the Buddha, respectively, which is approx. 2.22 euros).

Kotoku-in Temple houses Japan's second largest seated bronze Great Buddha, which is one of the iconic signs in Japan. Including the base, the Kamakura Daibutsu is 13.35 metres tall and weighs about 100 tons. The statue is hollow inside and was once surrounded by temple walls, but since the 15th century, the statue has been under the open sky. Obviously, we went inside the statue, even though there is nothing special to see there.

As usual, it was possible to buy talismans and souvenirs within the walls of the temple.

Half a kilometre away from Kotoku-in Temple is Hasedera Temple, housing one of the largest wooden Buddha statues in Japan, however, photography is prohibited. In fact, many temples didn't allow to take pictures inside. Visiting the Hasedera complex entrance is 400 yen + 300 yen for a visit to the Buddha Hall. Hasedera buildings are located on two levels and are surrounded by beautiful gardens. 

In the temple garden, there are hundreds of small Jizo (the patron deity of children and travellers) figurines, brought to the temple by grieving parents. Although the figurines have a sad undertone, these partially moss-covered figures are somehow soothing.

In temples, it is possible to write down wishes and prayers (after paying for them). In Hasedera, they were written on oyster shells rather more wooden tabs.

Unfortunately, we didn't get the opportunity to walk in the hydrangea garden, as the hydrangeas had already bloomed. At least, there was a view of the beach down below. Moreover, we got to visit a short cave dedicated to Benzaiten (or Benten), the deity of everything that flows (water, music, art, love, wisdom, knowledge) and the only female deity among the Japanese Seven Lucky Gods.

I had searched for a sushi place for lunch, but for some reason it was either closed or they had disguised their entrance extremely well. Fortunately, there was no shortage of food places, and we popped into the Chinese restaurant 味楽 across the street, where we enjoyed another ramen. And Cola (Coca-Cola could sponsor me, btw 😉) 

In Japan, temples (and various other establishments) close between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. Initially, my plan was to enjoy the beach first but to avoid rushing, we hopped onto a bus and drove to the third and again completely unique Buddhist temple of the day, Hokokuji. I added Hokoku-ji to the itinerary for its bamboo garden and matcha ceremony.

Compared to the temples we visited, Hokoku-ji temple is rather modest. But as mentioned, advertise themselves well with bamboo and tea (visit 300 yen + matcha 600 yen).  

Bamboos are so cool. They can be incredibly thin but at the same time so tall. For the tea ceremony, we stood in a queue, showed our tickets and sat in another queue. There were tables overlooking the bamboo garden, at which everyone could theoretically sit as long as they wanted. We were given a bowl of tea and two sweets per person because matcha is quite bitter. Although no one rushed anyone away, being aware that others are standing in a queue and waiting for you to finish is not comfortable. Anyway, we got to taste what the right matcha should taste and made our way to the beach.

When I thought of visiting Kamakura when compiling our itinerary, I discovered that they border the Ocean. Unlike the west coast of the US, the Pacific Ocean off Japan (Segami Bay, Yuigahama Beach to be exact) is warm. Of course, I added the beach for our must-go visit. Guess what I didn't take with me on the trip, being aware we'd go to the beach? So, Mum went swimming and I soaked my feet in the warm water. And the waves. Ohh, my memory.

Since there we didn't have seats reserved for our return ride, and there was no rush, we got to browse Komachi-dori, Kamakura's souvenir street. My Mum found all sorts of nicknacks for the family. We ate cupcakes (which didn't taste as good as they looked). Since the cupcakes were meh, we thought of trying the dango. Of course, I didn't know the name then, but numerous people ate the yummy-looking balls on a stick, which I found out were called dango. Heh, I couldn't eat more than a bite. They are made of rice flour mixed with some other rice flour, which in turn is mixed with some other rice flour. Various toppings are added to the balls, but the ball itself is stretchy and are far from delicious😁

Since we couldn't find the sushi place at lunch, we tried a sushi place virtually next door to Nishitetsu Inn. At first, we wanted to break in through the wrong door, but eventually, we found the right entrance. People were placed in separate booths with a curtain in front to increase privacy. Both of us had a set of sushi that cost the most we paid for rice and fish throughout our trip (¥2,500 per person). The dessert was one of the weirdest I have ever had. Anyway. Since the next day started early and Nishitetsu Inn Shinjuku was not willing to provide a packed breakfast, we had to shop for breakfast and that's how the day ended. I was glad we got to see and visit everything I had planned for the day.