Kamakura Things to Do

'Daibutsu' or 'great buddha'. A bronse statue of a sitting buddha. The statue was made in the 13th century and and rises 10 mtrs. It was placed in a temple which was completely destroyed by a tidal wave (tsunami) along with Kamakura. The statue of buddha survived an stands in open air for 6 centuries now. Nowadays the buddha is standing on an earthquake proof base.

Most Japanese students I saw them writing in a small paper, and then, they tie the paper in the wooden treads hanging. ( I don't know what they call it )
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Then I asked some Japanese who's passing by who can speak English and they told me that, most of this students they're wishing, they will pass thier exam or get higher grade.
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I did mine also wishing for..............
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That is my secret...........
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Tsurugaoka-Hachiman-Gu Shrine founded in 1063 by the Genji family, the creators of the Kamakura Shogunate, it became the center of politics and culture during the Kamakura Period.
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The most famous shrine in Kamakura.
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The background stairs going up to the famous temples.
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By observing and looking the Japanese when inside this temples "they throw money coins, clap their hands twice, they pray and bow"
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I did the same way....!!
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When you are in Japan...you do the Japanese way.

This bronze statue of Amita Buddha was cast in 1252 A.D. by the sculptors Ono-Goroemon and Tanji - Hisatomo at the request of Miss Idanono-Tsubone and Priest Joko.
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In 1498, a tidal wave swept away the great temple of the Buddha, leaving the only foundation stones. In the 500 years since then, the holy statue has been exposed to sunshine, storms, and snow.
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The last repair was done in 1960-61, to strengthen the Buddha's neck and to make it possible for the Buddha's body to move freely on the base to prevent a damaging shock to the statue in case of an earthquake.
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The statue is 13.35 meters tall, and weighs 121 tons.
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There is an entrance fee of 200 yen for adults.
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DAIBUTSU: The Great Buddha.
Cast in 1252. Bronze.
Height = 12.8 m (42 ft).
Weight = 95 455 kg (210,000 lbs).

The Buddha is the Amida Buddha (Sanskrit, Amitabha) worshiped by followers of Jodo (Pure Land) sect as a figure of salvation.

It has shock-absorbers in its base. Survived many tidal waves (in 1495, the wooden temple that housed it was completely washed away by tsunami), earthquakes, typhoons & fires.

Gardenlovers must have a weak hard for Japan. The Bonsai-principle, the Zen-gardens and several other accurate techniques make Japanese gardens topstandard in it's kind. One place to enjoy these work of arts is in the Engakuji-temple near Kamakura station. Here various styles are presented around the old temple.

Daibutsu (Kotoku-in Temple) : Lady Inada no Tsubone [d. 1253] together with a monk called Joko were responsible for the fund raising which resulted in the aesthetically pleasing Great Buddha, dedicated to Amida. After several mishaps with wooden statues, the bronze casting crafted by Goremon Ono was finished in 1252. Now gracefully sitting outside, the serene Buddha formerly was housed in the Kotoku-in's main building which a tidal wave swept away in 1495.