Kamakura is a fantastic, quaint city near my house. It's only one train hop from my local station, so it's really easy to get there and explore. During the Shogun Era of Japan, it was the capital. The Shogun period is memorable, because that's when the country was under the military dictatorship of the samurai. Now, Kamakura is more of a fun, beach town with lots of little unique shops and restaurants. My good friend had visitors from the States, so I tagged along for some excitement. Our first stop was the beach, just to see the beach shacks and say hello to some friends. Then, we were on a mission to find some great food. The general consensus was that we wanted a good burger. Rumor has it that the best burger in Japan is from Hawaiian Burger...roughly translated to Kua Aina burger. It's funny that this burger chain is actually from Haleiwa, Hawaii, which is one of my favorite towns there. So, obviously, I had to take a picture of the cup!
I ordered the avocado burger with fries. I was amazed that it came with almost an entire avocado on top. By most standards in the States, it was really small, but boy did it fill me up! The burger really was delicious, and so far, the best one I've had here so far. You'll have to make a trip just to sample it and give your opinion too. 
After eating, we set out on a mission to see the Hase-Dera Temple. Legend has it that in 736, a statue washed ashore near here and because it sent out rays of light, a temple was constructed here to honor it. Now, this temple is known as the 4th station among the 33 holy places in the Kanto area. The Kanto area is the area that I live in...it's like a county in the US. Here I am in the Benten-kutsu Cave. It's like a cave, literally. I had to walk all stooped over the entire time, and make sure that I didn't rub against the walls...I was scared of the geji-geji's. Don't worry if you visit I can guarantee that you see one...it's not a mythical creature! Inside the cave, there are 16 children and a Benzaiten chiseled out of the walls. She is a sea goddess and the only female of the Seven Lucky Gods of Japan. She is the fine patron of music, fine arts, and good fortune, and is usually seen carrying a mandoline or lute. The caves are lined with thousands of these little statues, to comfort the souls of unborn children. 
Here I am outside the cave mimicking this adorable statue. I have no idea what it represents or who it is...but it sure is cute!
This is the Benten-do Hall where there is a statue of Benzaiten with eight arms. Rumor has it that Kobo Daishi carved it himself while in seclusion. He spread Buddhist teachings when they were heavily regulated in Japan. He is considered a Grand Master of Buddhism and founded the True Word School of Buddhism around the year 800. 
The whole temple was filled with beautiful flowers, pools, and statues...this is just one serene landscape. 
The temple grounds were filled with these little statues...seriously everywhere I turned, they were lined up. I just love this picture because it seems like they go on forever, and if you visit, you will understand that they do. 
Here I am in front of more statues. Some looked new (I'm sure they are only a few hundred years old) and others like these looked aged...you know a thousand years or older. Either way, it was magnificent!
Last year, I explained how temples have statues outside depicting the beginning of life or the first sound in the Japanese Language, Ah. The first pictures I showed were of lions one with an open mouth and the other with a closed mouth symbolizing the end of life and the final sound in the Japanese language, N. I thought it was interesting to see the foxes below instead of the usual lions. 
After visiting Illinois this summer and seeing the shells of thousands of cicadas, I was surprised that Japan was on the same 13-year rotation. Apparently, I missed the swarms in the States, but returned to Japan just in time for them to take over the trees in my yard. The sound was deafening at twilight and they even dive-bombed me several times while I was outside on my balcony. When I saw this cicada skin at the temple, I just had to capture a photo of it. Never did I think that the songs of cicadas would make me homesick and remind me of the midwest.
Not only were the temple grounds filled with small statues, there were also large ones such as this. I can only guess that this is reminiscent of the Shogun Era of Japan when they governed from Kamakura. 
Behind one of the halls was this garden of bamboo. Now, I've tried growing this myself, and it's never quite flourished such as this. Apparently, I don't have the magic touch.
Here's my cute little guy again...this time joined by two friends. 
My friend and I standing on a balcony overlooking Zushi beach, which is near my house. Actually, you can probably see my local beach from here...it was pretty overcast when we were there, but on a clear day, I would bet it would be visible. With all the Japanese carrying around their umbrellas to shield them from the sun, we thought it would be fun to pose with our own. She just happened to have these gorgeous ones in her car and we just happened to carry them around in case of rain. Instead, they came in useful for our impromptu photo shoot. The locals swarmed around us and couldn't get enough of our poses. It's funny, because they do the same thing...they must not be used to girls as cute as us!
On our way out, we saw this girl dressed in Kimono. She just looked beautiful and she agreed to pose for a picture. 
Our next stop was The Great Buddha of Kamakura. This is actually where President Obama came during his visit earlier this year. Construction of this National Treasure began in 1252 and it was complete after 10 years. It is almost 44 feet tall and weighs more than 200,000 pounds. The inside is hollow, so you can actually go inside and look up. It was closed while we were there, though, so I will have to make the trip there again. 
These are the Buddha's slippers. They are hanging on the wall near the statue and seriously could probably fit the feet of the statue...and I thought I had big feet!
It was the perfect day to visit, because there was hardly anyone touring the grounds. Of course, we took advantage of that and conducted our own photo session. We got some interesting looks, but all of us got tons of great pictures...including the ones with props like the umbrella. We even had time to pose and adjust without being trampled by tourists or locals. It was great! Instead of senior portraits, I'm going to call this the, "Thirty and Thriving" album!
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