A Trip to Kamakura

Today, my floormates and I took a trip to Kamakura.  What was once the capital of Japan many decades ago, is now a beautiful seaside city with many temples, restaurants and a slower pace of life than Tokyo.  

We left our apartments on Saturday morning and made our way over to Mitaka Station.

The hour and a half journey to Kamakura only involves one train transfer!

Kamakura is a huge tourist destination.  I passed people from all parts of the world as I walked around the station.

Kamakura Station

Kamakura is surrounded by forested hills and mountains.  Absolutely beautiful. 

The Great Buddha, a prime tourist destination in Kamakura.

After viewing the Great Buddha, my roommates and I went to get lunch.

We ate at a traditional Japanese restaurant where I ordered a chirashi bowl set.

This picture still makes me hungry even now.

While walking along the streets of Kamakura, I felt a cool breeze and was overwhelmed with a strange sensation.  At that time I had no idea we were anywhere near the coast, but the second I felt that ocean breeze I knew that the ocean was close.  

We followed the direction of the breeze and we were met with a beautiful beach and the Pacific Ocean.  For the first time in a month I saw the ocean, I never realized how much I missed it until then.

This beach had many California qualities to it.

We stayed at this beach for a few hours as we eagerly awaited sunset.  I also got a chance to take some interesting photos during this downtime. 

There were a lot of surfers in Kamakura.
Even a father teaching his son how to surf!

A boy running along the beach just as the sun began to set.

A boy whacking a girl with a stick.  

Kamakura also looks like it is a great place for wind surfing!

We ended our trip with a visit to a beautiful shrine at dusk.  Our trip to Kamakura was a much needed breath of air from the urban sprawl of Tokyo, I will come back to visit Kamakura one of these days.