This weekend took a cheap bus tour to Kamakura, although its September its still fairly hot, in fact it was very hot when we finally did arrive. Very muggy and humid air, what you would usually expect at the beginning of a Japanese summer.
The tour included 3 main attractions;
First visit was kamakuras famous
bronze Buddha statue.
I think everyone in Japan or everyone who has been to Japan has a photo of themselves in front of this statue. it was quite impressive but compared to the gigantic statue I had seen in
Ushiku it seemed small in comparison.The place was really busy as well, so much so you could hardly walk around.
Next a tour round a national park and shrine, this was a more relaxed affair and we chose not to follow the guide with her "follow me" flag and squeaky monologue. Some lovely ponds and shrines.
Lastly we were free to wander up and down the "promenade" as it were, as Kamakura is next to the sea.
Was quite surprised at the number of English speakers in Kamakura,
apparently it had been a port of call for christian missionaries way,
way back and many foreigners had settled throughout the region through
time. One Old fella stopped me for a chat and was quite naturally freindly; unlike the "HARO WHEAR YUU FROM!?" odd types you can experience from time to time.
(I guess these folks are being friendly too, though like other members of my family, we seem to be magnets for the mentally retarded and get trapped in conversations with slightly "touched" people who take an over-liking to us)
Overall Kamakura was quite touristy, but very pleasant. There was a shop selling "authentic" samurai swords as souvenirs, though ridiculously overpriced; if I paid that much money for a "real" sword I would at least want to use it to lop off a few heads and not have it sitting as an ornament. =)