鎌倉

I wouldn't mind taking a visit there. Thanks for the heads up Danny.

Kamakura looks like a very nice and calming place. There is just something about nature that when the wind is blowing just right and the sun at the right angle, it just seems like a whole different world. Definitely gonna go there one of these days!

Nice pics Danny. It looks quite pleasant there, but being an hour and a half drive away from Tokyo I probably wouldn't make it priority. Here's to your health.
Your new lens seems to make peeping quite an easy task. j/k ^^;

Great photos and nice article Danny. Always cool to see these articles of such visits you make since it offers a nice middle perspective so to speak, you're not quite the foreign tourist but still someone who is able to offer an appreciating view (or even one of awe).
Will put this on the list of places to see when visiting Japan.

As for religion, I'm more of an agnostic myself.

Gosh darn thats a pretty place.... Wish I could get there :sob:
And those 3 O-jizou sama are just so cute!!!!!! And Dango!!!! Strong...urge....to type out....whole...dango....daikazoku song......must....resist!!

Thank you for that informative post, Danny. It really looks peaceful. I find your posts on the more traditional aspects of Japan particularly interesting.

Looks like a wonderful place to be! Even if I don't like going to touristy places.

Really a peaceful place away from Tokyo, will visit it when I have that chance ^^ Bleh, I have to wear uniform during school trips too.

the new lens look good, feel like playing with an DSLR~

cool.. another place to add to my list..hope to visit Japan again soon.. Lovely pics by the way

normally, i wouldn't fancy making a trip down to the nearby temple, but i certainly wouldn't mind heading down to this one!
thanks for the informative post!
posts like this remind us how vast japan is. it is not just confined to say anime or figurines ya know... it is also a painful reminder to me that it is impossible to explore the whole of japan unless you are living there yourself sigh

hmm...been there long time ago~
but still want to visit again...
the orginal O-jizou from Chinese's believe (Buddhism) is the god of salvation to the souls in the hell...

went there during my 3 weeks trip in japan ! what a walk we've done but incredible shrine and temples ... that's deserve the pain and what nice shoot we made there too !
there were a lot of school trip too. There so many things to see that i confirm the need of alot of time to visit all the shrines and temples.

not really too into visiting temples, rather see some nice natural scenery

Wow! I'm always interested in historical and cultural places. If ever I go to Japan Kamakura is surely in my list of places to visit!

Nice set of lens there! Isn't that a handful to carry? Ain't it heavy? O_o

Nice... looks like a completely different place.
One of the reasons why I love Japan.

Been the first one to reply that I haven't been to Kamakura. Too far from Fukuoka.

Beat me to it! I'm headed down there in about 3 weeks. Great photos and I'll be sure to check out some of those spots. ^_^

Great photos as usual. I really like the one of the forest, and of the long line of Jizou. Those three little ones are indeed the cutest Jizou I've ever seen as well. ^___^

As for his origin, he started off as Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva. Among other things, he has the remarkable ability to duplicate himself endlessly, hence the common multiplicity of his images. Originally he specialized in saving people who'd been reborn into hell, and I'm not certain how he came to be the patron of children as well. (Maybe because he's so cute, and with that handy self-cloning ability he makes a great babysitter.)

The red bibs are borrowed from Shinto practice, I believe, and don't have anything to do with children as far as I know. The same bibs are also frequently seen worn by Inari no kami's kitsune pals. Far as I can tell, they're just statue dress-up; I haven't heard any further explanation of them.

I went to Kamakura pretty much a year ago during Tokyo Game Show and absolutely loved it. And yes, I do remember the train crossing over there and the wonderful little town you could walk through as you went from one set of temples to the next to experience wonderful food and great shopping (maybe a bit touristy shopping but still great).
Some of the great things I remember of my visit:
1) the great bronze Buhdda was awesome to behold (although I agree, quite empty and really hot on the inside. And a difficult stairway to get in where I almost fell and killed myself)
2) the massive shelves of sake donated to the monasteries (who drinks it all?)
3) the soba restaurant I ate at in Kamakura where a gentleman was making the soba in front of you, and when I say making I mean: mixing the ingredients, making the dough, folding in a lots of times, cutting it thin.... et voila', awesome cold soba.

Oh wow.
It seems you had a great time.
It seems to be a good place to visit in Japan.
This reminds me of places I've seen in anime.
So many heads...

Oooo.. I just know that Great Buddha was originally housed in a temple. Btw, the picture "Snitch is a Buddha" is very kawaii :D

I've been to Kamakura for two days on my first trip to Japan and i loved it! I've been there on summer and the weather was just grate, maybe little bit too hot bus still enjoyable.
The only thing was that inside the Big Buddha the feeling was like being boiled alive ^^ !

A MUST see!

Nice relaxing pictures there Danny!

About religious practices... hmmm, don't get me started on that one, all I can say is that the true essence of Christian practices have been twisted... I can go on and on but, I don't really wanna type a whole chapter worth of explanations.. I think you guys know why anyways...

I've heard of Kamakura before but I haven't seen pictures so far. The new lens seems to do well. Also I like your bike. (I guess the orange-black one is yours)

This article has just made it official: England sucks donkey nuts. Man i wish i could go to japan, (insert sad face here).

Wow, nice one. Should really start making that list of what to visit

On my trip i was able to make it to kamakura. It's a really nice place to be in because it gives you that somewhat old japanese feel, even with the vintage looking train. the buddha was really huge and cool, plus you get to go inside if you choose for a mere 10 yen. me and my friends weren't very knowledgeable with the area except for the buddha, so we ran into another temple and ended up seeing a traditional japanese wedding. pretty awsome. would have been nice to go during cherry blossom season. i love the place though and any japan goer should put kamakura on their visit list.

GRR - server went walkies and i forgot to copy the text. Here i go again:

Nice update - ive always wondered what kamakura was like as ive considered excursions there on each of my trips to Tokyo. That beach you sniped looks a little grubby and congested though - kinda like blackpool in the UK!
That lens looks well impressive - you could be a super pervy paparazzi! Watch out schoolgirls, dannys about!

Kamakura was great, it was a good day out from Tokyo.

I also paid 20 yen to go inside the massive Buddha. It was nice to see the inside. But not so nice was man in wooden hut letting a coach load of tourists inside after me, so I could not get out of Buddha again!

I was going to have a paddle in the Pacific Ocean, but I changed my mind when I tripped over something on the beach and found it was a fish with massive spines (a bit like our hedgehogs). I also wanted to take a shell home as a souvenir, but when I picked it up I found there was an angry looking crab inside it.

Also, when I went to the beach, there weren't any idols in bathing costumes at all. In fact there were no people at all.

Thank goodness I didn't see any Dicloniuses either.

I went there during Golden Week... it was beautiful. In addition to what you went to see we also went to visit the grave of Minamoto no Yoritomo...not much of a sight but an important historical point nonetheless. :)
The caves at Hasedera were the best part though!! We had a lot of fun with that.

Wow, all of those pictures you've taken with the new lens looks wonderful!
I'll be sure to add that location as a place to visit during my trip to Japan next year. :D

Already planning my trip to Japan at the end of the year, and Kamakura was already on there. But it's nice to get an insight of it. The seaside town looks really nice, I wouldn't mind stopping by there and exploring.

Hoi, that temple looks awesome... I have to wonder though if there is train service out to that area or close to it. I want to visit it when I'm in Japan but car rental is not an option, and the Ryokan we'll be staying at is a severe distance away from there, as well.

If I'm not mistaken, those many small buddha heads appeared in Rurouni Kenshin's Ending sequence and the song "It's gonna rain"... I think.

i was quite disappointed when i went to the beach there. there was a stench that really put me off. i really miss the nice beaches in sydney...

did you go into daibutsu?

cool foldable bike you have there though ^^

Kamakura seems like a very nice place to visit. It always amazes me when I see religious artwork over 100 years old. The O-jizou sama really are a site especially when you see so many of them there. It makes me wonder what the meaning of them being there in that particular number. I could probably admire the statues of the gods in the caves in back of the temple for a week straight. I definitely will be stopping there if I ever get a chance to visit.

I'm pretty happy you posted an article about this. I went there a few years ago on my Japan trip and loved being there but completely forgot what it was called. Now I know so next time I can visit it again.

the most thing that i hate in japan are the beaches. Japan is an Island, has an ocean, as the sea and evreywhere (except Okinawa) the beach sucks! Incredible, dirty, full of tripod, full of trash,, very bad beach in japan

Nice and informative article:)

I've heard of this on TV, I thought they were gonna show something related to Kanon the anime but I got something different... The show was pretty interesting though...

Hey Danny, It's Stitch, not "Snitch"! LOL Either way, it's hilarious how they made it into a buddha...

Nice pictures Danny! And I would like to see more pictures of topless Danny LOL

I was going to Kamakura on my next trip anyway :)
Was actually going to go last time, but was too tired that day ;p

I went to Kamakura on my second trip to Japan. I didnt know enough about Japan the first time so i was scared to explore too far... I was only 18 and ON MY OWN! Well worth going to Kamakura though.

Awesome pictures! Nice to see a good comparation of the lens too, guess i write it down for me to get that one as well - hope it works with a EOS 450D as well. :)
And for sure need to go there, looks like an awesome area you can spot in some animes teehee. ^^v

That big statue looks like it was used for background for Street Fighter series lol. Joking aside, seems very nice place to visit. When I first visited Japan, I went to sightseeing many places like Nara, Kyoto, Osaka, Asakusa & etc but nowadays, I just go full shopping mode when I go to Japan -_- Maybe I'm not that sentimental anymore sob...

Kamakura looks like such a gorgeous place to visit! I'll definitely put it on my to-visit list for later on in the future. The thing that caught my eye the most were those big, long, beautiful green trees. It must be amazing to eat and have a drink near them. So beautiful!

This is definitely going on my visit list!

The depth of field on that lens is pretty nice! Looks like you can get some extremely shallow pics, and stuff inbetween.

ah~, thats very close to my home town chigasaki!
ya, beach is not that great, but then no where in japan are as clean as okinawa beaches.
last time i went there was like ten years ago.
i hope its getting cleaner, but mostlikely not...
however, i like to visit there again.

Oh yeah, I fully intend on visiting here if I get the chance. I have always wanted to see temples and the greenery is a plus. You had a lot of questions in your post Danny, here be my answers:

- I am a non-denominational Christian. I enjoy formal church services to an extent (depends on which one) but other than that there are no real responsibilities or rituals to worry about. I think the church system is being infiltrated, but that is another story for another time. I do my own thing and worship from time to time. Other than that, no rituals or anything- the entire point is to become a better person by using applied teachings from the Bible.

- Beaches are kept clean and sandy around here. Ocean City, MD is a wonderful spot, and I will be posting pictures adding to the coverage on my blog of it. Occasional beer bottle (I chuck 'em so people don't step on them and yell explitives) and every night tractors clean and refine the beach- any crap on the beach or buried a certain distance down is collected in the tractor, and the tractor spurts sand back out.

- Lol Snitch is Buddha? I have a great stitch impersonation. If the voice actor drops dead I would be a good stand-in.

Definitely on my visit list but I probably won't go inside the big statue....I don't care how little 20 yen is, still a waste just to see hollow bronze in my opinion.

Went there a few years ago when I was living in Japan. Isn't there a place that sell cookies that looks like chicks?

the place sure has a spiritual feel to it. .would love to visit and see the Daibutsu. I'm a Catholic myself but I find all belief systems (I dont like using the term, religion) fascinating, especially Shinto.

that really makes me want to plan my next trip soon... 'course it also kind of got me thinking about what sort of local travel opportunities i've been looking over... ugh, not that i have much time off stored up anymore ;_;

Those are some beautiful pics, but those "trees" in the 17th picture look an awful lot like bamboo... maybe I'm mistaken?

Nice photos... would be nice to visit.

Nice memories. It's been nearly 17 years since my last visit to Kamakura.

By the way, Danny, love the new lens. You should take it to Fushimi-Inari Taisha sometime...^_^

AAAHHH Kamakura!! One of my favourite places of all time! I feel excited that I can contribute much to this discussion!!
OK--For those who aren't aware, Kamakura was once the capital city of Japan when the Samurai class was in control. This accounts for much of the unspoiled beauty that we can go see there today.

Kamakura beach is very pretty!! I think it sort of has "seasons" in that it's very nice sometimes and beautiful and kinda muddy and full of jellyfish at other times. Defintely a great place to go-- don't let others' experiences worry you! On a clear day, you can see Fuji-san (Mt. Fuji) off in the distance!! There are definitely lots of wind and wave surfers there-- if you sit and watch, you can see a whole surf culture passing before you!

Hasedera Temple is, of course, in Hase-- the town adjacent to Kamakura. The temple is very famous for its ajisai (hydrangea) flowers-- and is often called "ajisai dera" (hydrangea temple).

The little green train that takes you from Kamakura to Hase is called the "Enoden" and it's very famous because the inside of the train is still constructed from wood and polished brass-- very pretty inside!

The O-jizou sama that you see at Hase Temple actually have a sad story behind them! They are put there in order to remember children who died, were still-born or miscarried. They are often dressed with hats, scarves and those red cloths we see, in order to keep them safe and warm (it's really very sad and touching, isn't it?).

The wooden placards that you write upon and hang up near the offering box are called "emma."

Daibuzu is awesome. It's such an amazing wonder. His face is everlasting tranquility. It may not seem like it's worthwhile to go inside (for those of you who haven't been there), but in some ways it's obligatory. :-) I recommend going in and seeing the inside. Also-- a while ago, Danny, you posted about collecting the Rubber Ink Stamps-- there is a really cool one with Daibuzu's image on it at Hase station.

Now-- maybe I can respond to some comrades-- The hour drive is not at all necessary (although it might be nice!), Kamakura is easily accessible from Shinjuku and Tokyo stations. The ride is about 75 minutes I think. There is also the Shonen Romancecar train which will get you there in comfort and style in about 60 minutes.

Yes-- that is definitely bamboo in Danny's photo- the bamboo forest there is *very* large and very beautiful, too. I agree with Danny-- the sound of the wind blowing through the trees is a wonderful, calming and meditative sound. (Ohhh man-- I'm feeling so nostalgic right now; wish I could go there soon).

Really kool lens Danny-- this is helpful for me since I am going to get my own digital SLR relatively soon (probably next time I go to Akiba, in October). I sure wish I could eat Dango! I really enjoyed reading this post Danny!! I love Kamakura so much! What a beautiful place-- I almost feel homesick now. :-(

Kamakura has is on my list to visit. And to answer your question, I practice religion every time I drive.

Kamakura isn't some place i'd like to visit but i'd like to have that huge Buddha in my front yard.

I never heard of this place before but looks like Kamakura is a nice place to visit.

I swear, I probably visited that place, but I'm not sure. Being in a tour group, speeding all around, I couldn't catch names. :s

Wow. that's a nice place. I should really add that to my already long list of places to visit in japan. hahah.

Nice lens btw, the pics look sharp and quite vivid. what does DC in the lens' name mean btw? dannychoo? LOL

I probably won't visit the temple unless it's in one of the places that a tour will go to. Those bamboo trees do look tranquill though. I'm still deciding to go with a tour group to Japan or just buy the plane ticket and pay for the hotel room to Tokyo. Definitely wanting to buy one of those lenses. It's so clear at 200mm, with stablizer too. Time to change my camera.

You know what's crazy? i took that same angled shot when I went to Japan! I'm sure those bamboo have grow tons since the time i was there. i went to japan three years ago and i went to Kamakura, it's an amazing place, isn't it? the O-jizou statues can be kinda creepy with the baby's clothing on them, but after taking Japanese religion at my college, i know a lot more about him. i love Kamakura and i can't wait to go there again!

I'm not deeply religious or anything, but a question just came to my mind... Since I plan to visit Kamakura, would it be strange to follow the Buddhist rituals and pray etc?
Also for Shougatsu when people visit temples to pray. If you were a Buddhist for example would you enter a Shinto Shrine to pray?

I missed going there in March, I really wanted to see the daibutsu... *sigh*
Wormgear is right, those votive tablets are called emma, I have a few from Kyoto, some of them are gorgeous and far too nice to be burned.

Yeah, if I have the time I will visit it. It seems to be very beautiful place

Yay! I learned something new today! 8D

Danny are those trees in the 6 & 7th photo bonsai trees ? they look it i love them. also bamboo is a tree it is an ever-green tree, it has been used in things like bicycles scaffolding cups and even opium pipes. that beach doesnt look appetising at all, looks like it has rubbish on it too. i prefer the beaches were i used to live in the UK > http://www.greatorme.org.uk/P6271918A.JPG only pic i could find of a beach from where i lived. oh danny i thought you liked being naughty and taking photos of what you shouldnt. :) would have been nice to see kannon. oh and lastly LOL at the koi carp fish, reminded me of the film evan allmighty with what you said about the fish coming to you.

the place look very nice, will definitely go there.

nice place. excellent pics. will visit japan if possible.

This is what i understood from my hostfamily in kyoto about O-jizou sama.

When people die they start in a certain position on the road to heaven, the better you were in life the better start position you got. Children on the other hand hat died young, at birth or were miscarried never got a chance to proof themselves and provide their parents a tremendous amount of pain. This instantly meant they are sentenced to the same place as people that led a bad life, on the opposite side of the river Styx.

Now as a child or even a bad guy you got the chance to redeem yourself by make a stone pillar the size of your body, if you complete it by the end of the day you can cross the river.
The stones you got were no bigger than pebbles and a witch every now and then came and destroyed your pillar just as about you were to finish it.

O-jizou sama saw this mischief and started hiding kids behind him or onder his cloack everytime the witch would come by. That way she only saw O-jizou with astone pillar and would not dare to touch it for she knew what would happen.

That is why you often see O-jizou pictured with kids at his side or hiding under the clothes.

As for the scarves and clothing; it is said that when you end up at the wrong side of the river that the heat of hell burns your clothes away and that you are left there all alone in the heat of the day and the cold of the night. Parents often then put scarves and clothing on the O-jizou statues so that when he helps their little one he would give them something for the night.

nice pics, very artistic.

Great photos, Danny! Gotta get myself one of those cool cams...

Danny, do you often take Haruhi with you on your excursions? ^^. Beautiful place I will have to go to someday.. The picture of the rail crossing looks just like the one I saw in an anime movie last week "The Girl Who Leapt Through Time". Great movie btw if you've not seen it yet.

I've always wondered. Don't those poor figurines get hot in your car? ;__;

Great photos Danny!!
Loved the 200mm zoomed Great Buddha pic and two of the O-jizou sama pics. I'll never be able to take those kind of pictures with my lousy camera. (My lousy camera is my Z6 phone XD)I'm planning to by a G9 Camera to enter the world of photography.
n_n /

Have been to a temple that has O-jizou like that in Matsuyama. I started to take a pictures of the hundreds of small O-jizou statues and a woman came up and stopped me. She explained to me that this is the part of the temple women who have decided to have an abortion or have lost a child go to in order to remember their lost child, deal with their loss, and that I should be sensitive of that when taking pictures... I looked around and noticed one or two women in the area, saw one of them putting a small cloak on a statue, and, upon realizing why they were there, I felt awful, didn't take anymore pictures, and left.

I was at Kamakura last Thursday and really enjoyed it. And yes, I was one of the tourist that said "is that all?" while inside the Great Buddha :) Excellent photos Danny!

What a beautiful place. Hope to go there someday.

Kamakura is a great place to visit from Tokyo. You can get there pretty easily by train. I like to take the little train that runs through the town, it's slower but more fun.

If you have good legs, the town is very walkable and you can visit several temples and shrines in one day. It would in my opinion be worth spending a night there, to have a more relaxing time. The town has a small town atmosphere you don't find in central Tokyo, or Kyoto.

If you are in Japan at New Year, the Hachiman Shrine in Kamakura is one of the major places for New Year worshipping (Narita Temple in Narita is another.) It is super crowded, so be prepared to wait in line for half an hour or more. Great atmosphere.

As far as religion, I always pray at whatever shrine or temple I visit, and no-one tried to stop me. The local shrine near where my mother-in-law lives, is open for New Year and they are very happy to see a foreigner and let him have a cup of nigorizake after he prays.

Japanese people are not generally uptight about religion. Just treat religious things with politness as you hope visitors to your country would respect your local churches and mosques and so on.

Great lens u have there danny. Was it very hot when you went there ? :)

Does anyone know the name of the figure in the last 2 pictures taken near the lenses? Would be appreciated @.@;

beauty pics *_* i'd wish to live in that town near the beachhh...(l) oooohhh!! (*broken heart*) lol

Is this the Kamakura of the first bakufu(=shogunate) of Minamoto-no-Yoritomo or is this just a town that is named the same?

buddha vs jesus which is stronger?

Mustn't... envy... can... control... emotions...

Nice pix, Danny. I've been to Kamakura a few times and find something new each time. It's a fascinating place with alot of history. I think the green train in the photo is the local Enoden. I love the train. It passes within inches of buildings along the tracks. Definitely planning to go there again.

was there last saturday!

Never heard of Kamakura before, but as I am visiting Japan this year in October, I will certainly go and visit it as it seems not so far from Tokyo : any idea which JR station would be the closest ?

And Stitch as Buddha looks so awesome and so cute :-)

Kamakura is at 45 mins of Tokyo Station on Sobu Line. You should get of the train in kita kamakura station. You could visit some very nice temple and walk until Kamakura, the twt station are very close, less of 1km. Should stay at least 1day to enjoy of the city.

There is lot of thing to see moreover the Great Buddha

Here some photos i took couple of week there and in august 2007 : http://vincentfollezou.com/wordpress/?s=kamakura

From kindergarden to high school Japanese kids wear uniforms to and from school, and on field trips. It is part of their culture I think, to do things together as a group. Only in the West do we have a strong sense of individualism. Have you ever seen a Japanese man jogging wearing old shorts and an old T-shirt? I haven't. They will be wearing a nice jogging suit.

I haven't seen any nice beaches in Japan like those in Hawaii. And the threat of jellyfish is always present in the Japan Sea I think. We went scuba diving near Sasebo but jellyfish scared us off.

Cool small bikes.

I went to Kamakura in my most recent visit to Japan, it was awesome! And I was lucky enough to go on a day that there happened to be a festival going on! It is such an awesome place, definitely one of my favourite places in Japan, along with Odaiba as well >:]

Definitely one of the nicest places I visited in Japan but the beach was completely empty when I went there besides a few long-boarders catching some nice small waves!

Diabuzu was great. Something you have to see for real to appreciate. Biggest budah Iv'e ever seen... The stairwell becomes a bit of a nightmare when people try to go both up and down the stairs at the same time. (more made for one way traffic!)

Great place to take a walk (or bike) as Danny did. Nice pics...