Kamakura Things to Do

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For many of us its called the great buddha of kamakura for the locals is Daibutsu..either way is the most important site in the kamakura area, where thousand come to see this outdoor sitting buddha...

I was not very impressed, just thought he would be much bigger..:-)...the biggest buddha will be the one in Nara (Todaiji)...anyway, the day was picture perfect....

to be continue

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On the way back from Kamakura, go to the beach at Enoshima and you can find people surfing there. Continuing the coastal walk to the island of Enoshima to see the sunset with Mt. Fuji viewable from a distant. Make sure to go earlier in winter time as sunset is around 4pm.

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This is the main street in Kamakura and it's leading up to Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine.

Dankazura Street is the slightly elevated walkway down the center of the main street with cherry trees on each side of the walkway. The promenade is decorated with lanterns during festivals, creating a delightful scene typical of Kamakura.
At the beginning of Dankanzura there are 2 japanese stone lions, shi-shi's.

On Wakamiya-oji Street there are several shops and restaurants.

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Tsurugaoka Hachimangu is Kamakura's most important shrine. It was founded in 1063 near the Yuigahama coast and enlarged and moved to its current site in 1180 by Minamoto Yoritomo, the founder and first shogun of the Kamakura government. It was moved here to to make it the core of the planned city of Kamakura. It was destroyed by a fire in 1191, but rebuilt with the present layout.
The shrine is dedicated to to Hachiman who is the patron god of the samurai. The main shrine was reconstructed in 1828 in Edo style.

To the east of the shrine is Kamakura National Treasure House Museum which contains temple treasures and valuables own by the shrine. . Included among them are: Seven portable-shrines made in 17th to 18th century, ancient swords, a folding screen on which various stages of war between the Minamoto and Taira clans are painted, a twelve-layered robe for court ladies, a suit of armor, ancient brush-writings and various wooden masks.

Admission: Free
Admission for Exhibition Hall: 100-yen.
Open 9:00-16:00

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This is the second largest Buddha in Japan (the only bigger one is found in Todaiji temple in Nara). It's a bronze statue and 13.35m tall.

It was cast in 1252 and used to stand inside a temple but in 1495 a tsunami washed away the temple but the buddha remained at its spot and since then it stands in open air.

Its found at the ground of the Kotokuin temple. Admissiom is 200yen plus another 20yen if you would like to enter inside the statue.

Open
7am - 6pm (April - September)
7am - 5.30pm (October - March)
Year round

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Beautiful temple with an observation platform located on the hillside of Mt Kannon offering a grand view of Yuigahama beach and the long hills of the Miura peninsula.

Kannon, the main object of worship of the Temple is an 9 meter tall guilded wooden statue with eleven heads, each representing a characteristic of the goddess. It is regarded as the largest wooden sculpture in Japan, but not designated as a National Treasure nor an Important Cultural Asset. It can be found in the temples main hall.

But what really caught my attention here was the Jizo-dou hall.
JIZO is the guardian of Deceased Children, Expectant Mothers, Firemen, Travelers, & Pilgrims.
On both sides of Jizo-Bosatsu are hundreds of JIZO FIGURES in all sizes laid out. These are put here by women who lost their children through miscarriage or abortions, to comfort the souls of unfortunate unborn children and are dressed bye some women to keep them warm.

Admission: 300 yen
Open: 8am - 5pm

Hachiman is the Japanese Shinto god of war, and divine protector of Japan and the Japanese people. An alternative name for Hachiman is Yawata (god of eight banderoles). His symbolic animal and messenger is the dove.

Since ancient times Hachiman was worshipped by peasants as the god of agriculture and by fishermen who hoped he shall fill their nets with much fish. In the Shinto religion, he became identified by legend as the deified emperor Ojin, son of the Empress Jingo, from the 3rd - 4th century CE.

However, after the arrival of Buddhism in Japan, Hachiman became a syncretistic deity, a harmonization of the native Shinto religion with Buddhism. In the Buddhist pantheon in 8th century CE he became associated with the great bodhisattva Daibosatsu.

(Text courtesy of Japan-101)

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The Great Buddha of Kamakura is a bronze statue of Amida Buddha that is located on the grounds of the Kotokuin Temple. With a height of 13.35 meters, it is the second largest Buddha statue in Japan (the largest is located in the Todaiji Temple in Nara).
The statue was cast in 1252 and originally located inside a large temple hall, but the temple buildings were washed away by a tsunami in the end of the 15th century, and since then the Buddha stands in the open air. If you buy a ticket it's possible to get inside of Buddha, i did it and i have to say..it felt really strange...just imagine it..being inside of divine embodiment...
i also heard that some people prever the Kamakura Daibutsu over the Nara Buddha finding it more inspiring and divine...