Kamakura

It was raining heavily today but it was our only chance to go to Kamakura which is one of the former capital cities of Japan. Chris particularly wanted to go there as 'The big Buddha' there is one of the treasures collected on  'Age if Empires' computer game.

It was probably the coldest most miserable day we could have chosen to go there. I had to buy gloves from the 100 yen shop and we spent some time in a pancake parlour with hot chocolate and extreme pancakes (so much cream you feel quite queasy afterwards, I recommend choosing the custard filling instead). Above photo is the Jizo statues at Hasadera Temple, Kamakura.

The big Buddha is so huge you can actually go inside the statue itself. It has been put together in bits and you can see the joins from inside. It is amazing technology considering it was built in 1252. Originally it was built inside a temple but the buildings were  burned down and not rebuilt so now it is outside.