Saturday, June 20, 1998

After the long night we had, Saturday needed to be slow. We all over slept a little. Despite the late start we kept to our plan of going to the city of Kamakura. This city was the first feudal capital of Japan. There are no castles left from that era, but there are many Temples and giant statue of Buddha. The group from Friday night, plus Sarah, from Chicago, and Maki's sister, took a train from Tokyo station to Kamakura (not the Bullet train). We spent the morning (what was left of it) wandering through a gorgeous Buddhist Temple complex. On the grounds of this Temple were many small temples and Shinto shrines. I took many pictures of the various architectural styles and enjoyed the natural setting. I made a prayer for Aunt Ethel.

These pictures from Kamakura show a Shinto Wedding in progress and a child playing with the pigeons.

At the top of the hill (still in the Temple complex) was a small observation deck/restaurant. As we sat to enjoy a drink, the squirrels decided to get bold and came way too close for comfort. I am sure that if I had any food, they would have attacked. Since we only had drinks, we had to find a place to eat.

We searched for a suitable restaurant until we found a noodle house. We sat on the floor on tatami mats. I order what one of the Maki's ordered because I was unsure what each item was. She chose well. I had two kids of noodles with some small salads on the side. It was delicious.

This restaurant was popular for its food and its entertainment. In the garden near the dining room, sat several people at a long table. On either side of the table sat a bamboo half-pipe with flowing water. Periodically, a waiter dropped a blob of noodles into the pipe. Diners had the responsible had picking up the noodles with the chopsticks and then eat them. It seemed like a good challenge even for Japanese. I thought it was cool.

After lunch, we strolled through the shopping streets for hours and just had fun. It was a great day.

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