There are several hiking trails in the hills surrounding Kamakura. They link several of the temples and shrines, and made a nice way for us to visit the sites. We started at the central Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine which was down the Wakamiya Oji Avenue where we admired the cherry trees the day before. It is considered the main shrine and the heart of Kamakura city. It was originally built in Kyoto but moved to Kamakura in 1180. Shrines are religious places where certain deities are enshrined or buried. Each shrine is dedicated to a different deity that was important to the people who built it. There were several impressive wooden buildings around the grounds, surrounded by beautiful gardens and ponds. The largest and most important building was located at the top of the hill in the back, offering very nice views of the city and the cherry tree-lined avenue.
After a quick lunch at a surprisingly impressive French bakery, we walked to the Hōkokuji Temple. Unlike shrines, temples are Buddhist, and in Japan, most are Shinto – a branch of Buddhism that worships nature. As such, the temples are surrounded by magnificent displays of nature and they are incredibly peaceful places to meditate and just appreciate the beauty and tranquility of nature. The temple entrance featured a quiet moss garden dotted with statues and seasonal flowers throughout the grounds. This temple is most famous for its beautiful bamboo grove with roughly 2,000 giant Moso bamboo plants, which can grow up to 60 feet (18 meters) tall. There was a tea house there where one could enjoy a cup of matcha tea while fully immersed in the bamboo trees. Tea houses are traditionally located in scenic natural settings and are usually quite rustic. It was a very peaceful place and we really enjoyed visiting this temple.
After leaving Hōkokuji Temple, we made our way to the Ten-en hiking trail which went up to follow a ridge around the back of the city. The hike was very wooded, but we would get glimpses of the city and the ocean here and there. We were surrounded by tall beautiful trees and in one section we found ourselves in another bamboo forest. We discovered little caves along the way that were ancient shrines to different deities. Towards the end of our hike, we came across an elderly Japanese man who was praying to a statue high up overhead. He was very happy to talk with us in English and explain that the statue was of the Japanese Buddhist priest Kūkai, also known as Kōbō Daishi and the founder of the Shingon school of Buddhism in Japan (he lived from 764 to 835). He asked us where we were from – and when we replied Minnesota – he told us that it was well known in Japan because of the Minnesota Twins who have had some Japanese ball players on their team over the years. Go Twins!
After nearly two hours, we exited the hiking trail at the top of another temple complex called the Kenchoji Temple. It is the oldest Zen training monastery in Japan. It was started by Rankei Doryu, a Buddhist monk from China who started the Zen teachings from this temple in 1253. There were great views of the valley at the top where we entered, and the grounds were beautiful as we walked down the many staircases to the bottom. We saw lots of blossoming trees and bushes, and even some peonies along the way.
After exiting Kenchoji Temple, we headed back to town through some little streets. After walking over 8 miles (13 km), we were ready for a good meal – which we found at a conveyor belt sushi restaurant in the town center. We had eaten at one last year, so we were less intimidated. It was a great choice, as we were able to sample many different types of sushi we hadn’t tried before like eel, sea urchin, salmon roe and omelettes. And of course, we had many wonderful tuna and salmon sashimi. We racked up 15 plates that we washed down with crisp extra dry draft beer. Our bellies were full, and the bill only came to $28. We wish there were affordable places like this back home for us to enjoy sushi!
On our way back to the hotel, we stopped at a grocery store to marvel at the many foods we didn’t know. Everything looked so good and we saw the large bamboo shoots called Princess bamboo that were in Sophie’s ramen the night before. We left the store with a few items for future breakfast and later snacks. Another fun day in Japan!
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