After a good night's sleep. we arranged to do some major walking and hiking in and around Kamakura today. I'm glad I brought my trusty New Zealand hiking boots. They haven't let me down yet.
7Eleven - They're everywhere!
Our cute little room at the AirBNB
Downtonw Kamakura, Jody and me hamming it up in front of a beautiful cherry blossom tree-lined street.
The Japanese like to have professional portraits of there beautiful children taken as well as seen in this advertisement.
So much charm and beauty in Kamakura, not to mention numerous temples and shrines.
After a considerable walk through downtown, we venured forth to the Kenchoji Temple, the first Zen temple in Japan. Zazen meditation sessions are held there on Fridays and Saturdays presumably I'm guessing to help residents find peace after a hard week at work.
And this is just the "opening" to the temple.
We left the Kenchoji Temple and continued our walk, stopping for a brief coffee and tea, and continued to the Kuzuharaoka/Daibutsu Hiking Trail where we saw these impressive bamboo trees.
Approximately 1/3 of the way up the hiking trail we stop a t the popular picnic area, Genjiyama Park.
"'THERE BE DRAGONS!" - and precious little children too.
And turtles too.
I was so pleased to see a very happy Japanese man with his beautiful, loving Irish Setter.
High up the trail about 1/2 way and our beautiful view of Kamakura below and the Pacific Ocean.
We encounter a beautiful home as we start making our way down the trail.
Treading carefully down some of the trail steps.
Really dense along the trail.
The final set of steps marking the end of the hiking trai. Four hurting feet.
After washing up, we set out for an authentic Japanese meal at a local restaurant recomended by our AirBNB host. There was only one other couple and a single man served by this fun chef who cooked our multi-course dinner in front of us. As we discovered, it was a mixed-bag of enjoyment with Jody and me liking different things. Japanese food is VERY DIFFERENT to each of us.
And lest you think U.S. culture is far away, even the "Colonel" is here.
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