Becky and I were in AOB all week. Which is our Area Orientation Brief or training on how to live in Japan. The week long training included a trip to Kamakura to get experience on the trains and around in town. Kamakura is about 20 minutes away by train. It was an awesome town, very unique, full of character, and quaint. I can't wait to go back and explore some more!
Many pictures below are of the largest Shinto Shrine in Kamakura which was built by the first Shogun leader YoritomoMinamoto. The Shogun were Samurai who were first charged to protect the Emperor, but later took political power. It was amazing to see something built in the 1100's. It was super intricate and absolutely amazing!
At the Shrine, the people leave offerings, such as these barrels of Sake.
This men were there to participate in the formal parade of the Samurai Archers.
Part of the ceremony to bless the rice crops and the Samurai's.
The symbol on the ends of the beams are the symbol of the water goddess (the black and white). It is painted on all the beams to protect the Shrine from fire since it's made mostly of wood.
These are fortunes...there is a tradition here where you pay for your fortune and if it's one that you don't care for, you tie it on the strings to offer it to someone else. You can also put yours up there if it's your perfect fortune and you don't think that you can get a better one.
Here I am standing in front of the Temple. The blocks of wood behind me are offerings of horses, which was an ancient tradition. You write your wish on the back and hang it on the wall. After the wall gets full, they take the wood blocks and burn them while blessing the smoke as an offering.
We were lucky to have toured the Shrine when the Yobusame Festival was happening. It happens twice a year to celebrate the planting and harvest of rice. It consists of Samurai on horseback while doing archery. They ride and shoot targets. It started with a blessing of the arrows and offerings. There were thousands of people there during the week...imagine what it would have been during the weekend. Included some pictures of the Samurai's and horses below.
We had to stop at this famous store where they serve dove shaped cookies...apparently they're all the rage here. The store was packed with school children buying boxes of them. They were surprising in that they were crunchy and light...but yummy!
Everything here is just so serene...I just had to include my photo of the secluded staircase.
We avoided the rain all day...until we got back home to Yokosuka. Here we are waiting for the base shuttle back to the Navy Lodge. We were definitely ready for some warm and dry clothing!