Even though we have only been here two days it feels much longer. Not because we are bored but because we have packed in so many experiences in such a short period of time. Jet lag has helped as we sleep little and wake up early. Today we were up at 5:30 a.m. and out the door by 8:30 a.m. Sawako is attending a conference this weekend but let us down gently by delivering us to the Tokyo central station to make sure we would catch the right train to Kamakura, which is the home of many ancient Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines. It is a delightful little town (although not much is little in Japan except food servings and, compared to my 6' frame, some of the people). As we have since the start of our journey 5 days ago, we walked and walked and then walked some more. We saw the giant Daibutsu Buddha (over 30 feet high sitting). The statue had been inside a temple until some winds came along several centuries ago and blew the temple down. One source had said that the temple was destroyed by a tsunami. As Clara and I walked uphill to the temple complex, it seemed impossible for a wave to come up this far and this high. Finally, we settled our doubts with more definitive information that confirmed that the winds had actually removed the temple.
I might add as we walked many miles today we were besieged by very heavy rain and even a thunderstorm ourselves. Thank God I remembered to check the weather which called for a chance of rain as it was a bright blue sky early in the morning. But even with an umbrella my arms, back and legs were soaked not once but three different times. This followed being soaked yesterday as well. and to think they are calling for torrential rains in a few days. I may be sorry that I did not bring my scuba gear.
One highlight of the day was a wedding we happened to witness at the town's major Shinto shrine and it was very different than anything I had seen before. We then went to the Zen Kencho-Ji Temple and it was most impressive. Much of the complex dates back to the thirteenth century with further reconstructions from seventeenth century. Probably the most impressive complex I have ever seen and the monks are still training others in the art of Zen meditation.
We found our way back to the Tokyo station where we met up again with Sawako and went out and had a delightful vegetarian dinner. It was a long day and a little challenging at times with the rains and trying to read Japanese maps plus many misdirections as we walked the town, but we survived and found our way to our delightful hotel room for another night of tossing and turning but maybe less than the last two nights.
I do want to say how impressed I am with Japan and its people. I have never been somewhere that is so clean and well mannered. There is not a piece of litter on any train, metro, station, or street. It is so nice not to see trash thrown everywhere as it is in the U.S. There is no talking on cell phones or eating and drinking on the rail cars, little smoking on the streets and the trains all run like clockwork. Hundreds of trains run every minute-and-a-half on weekdays, with a more "relaxed" schedule of every 4 or 5 minutes on weekends, with 15 cars in each train. The roads are not filled with beeping horns or discourteous drivers. Courtesy seems to be a way of life here and I love it.
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