Kamakura

Trips had his turn at AOBs (Area Orientation Briefing - the military is crazy about acronyms) this past week. One of the days is scheduled as a field trip. They teach you some things about the train systems and you are supposed to pick a destination and make your way there - so we gave it a shot. We picked the seaside town of Kamakura, which is across the Miura Peninsula and to the north. Our journey started with the bus ride to the front gate. From there we had a 15 minute walk to JR Yokosuka Station. Trips bought us each a Suica card loaded with Yen for convenience. Our first hurdle came when Lacey's stroller wouldn't fit through the turnstile. I saw that there was one at the end designated for wheelchair use, but I wasn't sure where to swipe my card. So, not remembering the word for 'excuse me', we stood there waiting patiently for someone to notice us. And someone did. A lady who had been sitting on a bench came over and got the attention of the attendant for us. We've encountered this type of kindness alot. When Trips was buying the tickets, I was standing by reading a pamphlet on our destination and a woman just came up to me to ask me if I needed help. Today, I was talking to a lovely woman named Yuki and she offered to communicate something for me. So, now I think that when I need help, if I just wait long enough, someone kind person with English speaking skills will come along an rescue me (I can only hope).
So, we got off of our first, nice, big, empty train to make a transfer. We found the correct platform with ease. The train pulled up and we boarded. I got our mammoth stroller as far as I could onto the crowded train, which was only a couple of steps. That didn't matter. The people kept coming, pushing their way past us and onto the train. It freaked me out! I held my breath for a few stops and we got off and made our way over a few streets to view the Pacific Ocean at Shichiragahama Beach - beautiful black sand.

We ate at what turned out to be a relatively high dollar restaurant, but yummy. You have to depend on trial and error alot, I've found, when traveling in a foreign country. Then walked back to the train station to backtrack to another stop we wanted to make. We made it through the crowded station and onto another crowded train. And did I mention it was hot? Real hot. Baking sun and high humidity hot. Dripping with sweat hot. We got off the train and walked in the direction of our destination. Another 15 minute stroll, in the heat, on a very narrow sidewalk, with a huge stroller, at a very busy tourist location. I was spent. We made it to the sight of the Great Buddha statue we were going to see, We entered the tree filled sanctuary, sweet relief from the sun. We cleansed our hands and mouth, as is custom when entering a temple. We turned the corner and there it was. The big, beautiful Buddha statue.

The Great Buddha (Daibutsu), a bronze statue of the Amida Buddha, was cast in 1252. It is 37 feet high and weighs 121 tons. Very beautiful and worth the trip. As, I mentioned to Trips, I can't believe we've viewed two 'Big Buddhas' in our lifetime (the other being on Lantau Island in Hong Kong - also magnificent - this Daibutsu was gratefully lacking the 300 + stairs to the top). Stella's favorite part was the ice cream. She chose vanilla ice cream. Trips chose the green tea ice cream - very popular here. Not too bad. Also popular is the purple ice cream - sweet potato.

We made the long journey back - walk, train, train, walk, bus. Again, the girls were troopers. Our first Japanese train experience - check.

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