Rick's suggestion that we take the hiking trails from site to site was a good one. When we found the stairs, Rick charged his way up gliding swiftly up the stairs. I don't think Rick realized how high the stairs were going to go, but he kept a good pace going up the first flight. The stone stairs quickly turned to wood as we climbed higher.
Ricked remained the lead dog up the rapidly ascending stairs until we reached the top for a spectacular view. I realized when we finished snaking our way to the top, that the foliage was too thick to get a good photo to give a perspective of how high we were. I looked at multiple times for some visibility through the foliage, but it was too dense to get a shot. The crickets chirped as we walked up and down the ridge on a small dirt path.
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As we descended on of the ridges, we found a set of yagura in the side of the cliff. Yagura are tombs that are built into the sides of cliffs, and they dot the hill sides of Kamakura. The first set we past looked more like cenotaph which is a tomb in the side of the cliff that honors someone who is not buried there. I was excited to see the Yagura because I had already read about them the previous night. There is a lot of debate about when the Yagura were made in Kamakura, but it is clear that Kamakura didn't have a lot of space in the value below. The cliffs served the purpose of honoring the dead. Even today, the residence of Kamakura use the cliffs as a graveyard The article about yagura is pretty good on the subject of Kamakura's cliffs .Wikipedia Yagura
Later in our trip, we saw the largest Yagura in Kamakura from the ridge. The lighting contrast was horrid for this picture,and Ill see if the other guys have a better picture to replace this one. This was one of the few points we could see the value.
We came out of the woods a little disoriented, hot and thirsty. Thank god for the vending machines that just pop up on street corners with water, green tea and other liquid refreshments. We passed by a pharmacy after wandering around and asking some locals for directions. Rick picked up some Japanese Tylenol and we all worked on hydrating. The air was very hot and thick, and when we passed by a Seven Eleven, Luke and I went inside to look for a frozen lemonade. The one hundred Yen I spent on that lemonade was well worth it. Both luke and I used our wooden spoons to poke away at the ice when we both hit a lemon right in the middle of the frozen lemonade. I whittled my way around the edges thinking it was a rip off to get two ounces of ice and a lemon when I realized the lemon was just a slice that I quickly peeled off my lemon iceberg. I guess when you've been eating some exotic food a lemon seems pretty normal to stick in your mouth, and it was worth the though. The treat was a sweet and cold candy of fresh lemon surrounded by ice sweetness. I wish I took a picture, but I was too enthralled by the cooling goodness that the Seven Eleven Gods had given me.
We made our way up the road and started another ascent to our next "must see" in Kamakura, Zeniarai Benten Shrine. Visitors to Kamakura travel to Zenairai to wash their coins in the springs there. It is said that the washing money in the springs will make it double. I was more impressed by the mixture of Buddism and Shinto within the cliffs. The mixture was seemless and it made it hard to distinguish one from the other in this holy place. In some of the cliff walls, it looked like the walls were crying water. We entered the Shrine through a tunnel into the light on the other side.
The discoloration in my shirt is sweat. I thought this picture portrayed how hot is was the best.I also thought it was pretty cool to me some pictures of me at some of these places. I'm usually the guy taking the pictures, and I haven't had a lot of opportunities to get pictures of me in Japan..
I also got a picture of the rest of the crew before we entered Zeniarai Benten Shrine. From left to right is Luke, Rick and Tom.
After entering the Shrine through the tunnel we emerged on the other side only to pass through a series of Japanese gates.
After I took this picture I became separated from Rick, tom and Luke. I wasn't concerned since I the tunnel was the only way in and out of the shrine. We had all taken a right turn, but the team had gone to eh upper pool while I found a small waterfall in the lower pool with a pond just below it full of Koi.
It didn't take long for me to find the rest of the guys at the upper pool where I grabbed some quick video before we descended down the stairs to view the rest of the shrine.
Every once and a while I post a picture I like just because I want to. As with most shirnes, there were a number of guardian statues at the shrine . I liked the smile on this one, so I grabbed a shot of him.
Unfortunately, I forgot to get a picture of the people washing their money in the springs. I think I was too engrossed in the scenery and peacefulness of Zeniarai Benten. The day not over, we continued our ascent back to the mountain tops that surrounded Kamakaru.
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