Kamakura.....Great Buddha

Today, August 17, 2010, we started the day at a coffee shop down the street from our hotel in Shinjuku. Nice cup of coffee and great little bag of sugared walnuts for later. Headed to the main Shinjuku train station, two stops away from ours, Shinjuku-goymae. From that point on we headed to the Odakya Line to catch the train to Fujisawa. The round trip tickets only cost 1490 YEN, about $15.00 for the day. From Fujisawa, as we got closer to Enoshima Island, the locals started to look more like beach goers. It was soooo hot today. I really think it is more humid than Florida at times. We got off the train and headed toward Enoshima Island to find the cave; however, it was too darn hot and too far. We had some mango/apple ice cream...a main food staple on this trip.....and headed back to Enoshima station to go find the Great Buddha. It was a nice train ride along the coast of the Pacific ocean. I couldn't help but think that during an earthquake it is this community that needs to evacuate in fear of a tsunami. Anyway, we got to our stop in Hase to see the Great Buddha. He was not a disappointment. Got some great shots and some souvenirs. Mom had some gelato....no, this is not Italy, but anything cold will suit her :) She holds up incredibly well for 77 years old. I actually was worried about her today, since her face was so red. I was making her drink lots of water. Plagiarism warning.......
The Great Buddha of Kamakura (Kamakura Daibutsu) is a bronze statue of Amida Buddha, which stands on the grounds of Kotokuin Temple. With a height of 13.35 meters, it is the second tallest bronze Buddha statue in Japan, surpassed only by the statue in Nara's Todaiji Temple.
The statue was cast in 1252 and originally located inside a large temple hall. However, the temple buildings were destroyed multiple times by typhoons and a tidal wave in the 14th and 15th centuries. So, since 1495, the Buddha has been standing in the open air. 
We saw ambulances several times drive down the street and we swear it was due to the heat. We headed back to the train station, not before stopping at the 100 YEN store....their Dollar Store and yes, everything was still made in China :) Got a few items and jumped on the first train back to Fujisawa, then the next train to Shinjuku and then the Tokyo Metro to our station near out hotel. The shower is calling....gotta go....we are walking down to Shinjuku to get some dinner. Here are some pics from today....love to all...see you soon!

some locals headed to the beach

local, fresh seafood

had to buy the hat to hide from the sun....

Soon to be World Heritage Site....

PS, last night we headed down to Shinjuku to visit the Tokyo Government Building. The observation tower is open till 11pm for visitors to go up to the 45th floor and take in the view of Tokyo...wouldn't you know I felt sick...such a wimp....can't handle altitude...but managed to make it through Mt. Fuji!!!

We ate dinner at some Odon noodle joint. Alex and Leonel ordered the beef noodles with some type of tomato based sauce. Using chopsticks, which we use for every meal, Alex managed to get more sauce on his shirt then in his mouth!