I am sure we have all heard those wretched stories of the traffic and congestion in Japan, but this past weekend was the first time Andrew and I truly experienced it. Like REALLY experienced it. I have inched my way along 16 many a time, but never like this.
So we decided to go to Kamakura for the weekend. There are several famous shrines in this area and ever since I saw a picture of the 'Big Buddha', I wanted to see him. For some reason I envisioned him being like what Daniel and his friends were told to bow down to, and would be neat for the children to see. As we set off on Friday morning, with GPS in hand we thought getting there would be a piece of cake. Boy were we wrong. Our GPS does not 'see' highways stacked 4 high, and cannot understand why you couldn't just get off and go left. We missed our exit and ended up almost in downtown Tokyo. The traffic was unbelievable, our GPS practically useless, highways stacked 3,4 and 5 levels on top of each other, and tolls every time we tried in vain to reroute ourselves. It was a nightmare. Truly. Andrew and I are still married, but times like those should not be repeated, like ever. Sigh. Andrew, and I have to hand it to him, figured our way out of it, but it definitely served as a wake up call as to why the train is used like it is here. Driving is a crazy waste of time if you are anywhere in the vicinity of Tokyo. Our projected 2 hr trip, took 5 and we arrived.
Was he worth it? Buddha I mean? He was. The kids were really able to see what an idol is as they were in Biblical times. People were praying and bowing to him, offering gifts and burning incense. It was really very sad. We also went to several other temples in the area, most notably Hasadera.
It was built in the 8th century, and has an eleven faced Kannon (or goddess of mercy) in the main hall. It is over 30 feet tall and was apparently hand carved by a very well known priest named Tokodu. It is the largest wooden structure in Japan and its 11 faces are to help her see in every direction. We could not sneak a picture, but did manage to get one of this buddha at the shrine for prosperity
From there we went to see the Daibutsu or Buddha. He is the second largest bronze statue in Japan. The fact that he is in the open air makes him unusual as most of these idols are in the shrines.
This shrine was for deceased children
This cave had about 2 dozen gods in it, with spots to burn your incense in front of each god
The kids were utterly exhausted after this and we decided to head to Yokosuka where we had a hotel for the night. Yokosuka has a very large naval base and I had heard had way better shopping than our base in Yokota. It was better, but I wasn't expecting how neat this base was. I guess I have to admit being on a working Air Force Base is pretty cool, but seeing the destroyers, submarines and an aircraft carrier sitting at the docks was awesome! I mean going through them when they are past their heyday is one thing, but these are active. In use. And we all couldn't see enough. Loved it. We were not sure if we were allowed to take pictures of the ships. Due to security reasons, we arent allowed to take pictures of the aircraft at Yokota. Otherwise we would have gotten close and taken a lot of good ones.
The next day we had designated as a beach day. I never dreamed when my children first put their toes in the Pacific it would be in Japan! We had a wonderful day relaxing on a black sand beach very near Kamakura named Enoshima and enjoyed the very warm ocean and surf...
It started out rough but I am so glad we went... Memories galore!
Hi Merri, I just found your blog and enjoyed reading through your posts. I am deeply sympathetic over your traffic nightmare--hopefully that doesn't ever repeat itself. Ross and I have had by far our worst arguments trying to navigate in foreign cities. Also, I was impressed that you took all four of your kids on the train. All the best as you adjust to your new surroundings, Christie
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