Our last day in Japan. We had decided to follow a recommendation and go and see the big Buddha at Hase. This meant taking the Minimatoi line to Yokohama station and buying a ticket to Kamakura.
There was no doubt we were on our way to something special – there were huge crowds from Yokohama onwards so that getting tickets at Kamakura was quite a scrummage and we were packed into the train like squashed sardines! In Hase we just followed the crowd.
As we went into the temple grounds we were given tickets with the number 893 on them – both the same number. Where we came in was a very nice garden and we followed the path up steps. There we found an area where lots of people were sitting around and also some queuing up and the numbers became more obvious – with 893 we had 75 minutes to wait!
Well we thought if so many people want to go there, there must be a good reason. Then we started to look round more carefully and realised the reason was that there was a panorama path through hydrangea plants which were in full bloom. We investigated more of the temple and our turn came before so very long and it was well worth it. Unfortunately the day was rather rainy and the worst rain came just while we were walking along the panorama path. Still we had not only a good view of masses of hydrangeas of all sorts of colours and shapes but also into the bay where people were surfing and windsurfing.
The pictures all come from http://travelience.com
This post is an extract of my mother’s travel journal written during a tour of Japan in 2014.
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