Kamakura - 12th Wedding Anniversary

We knew we had to celebrate in a special way. Our 12th anniversary came fast. 

We could catch a flight somewhere. Even a flight to Hawaii wouldn't cost us a thing. We would have had to pay for a hotel and food though.

But I hate long flights. So we picked somewhere close.

My friend next door, Misty, and I decided to swap kids because our wedding anniversaries are in the same month!

So Ster and I decided to go without the kids on a day trip to Kamakura Japan.

 We decided to drive there and park in the city. We would pay the toll to ride the freeway to get there sooner. And pay to park in order to have our car close and not have to ride the trains.

Unfortunately there was an accident that caused our drive an extra hour. We watched Sailor Moon episodes in the car as we were stuck in traffic. Ster got me the Sailor Moon it's season as an anniversary gift! :)

From the pictures online and the tourist map I thought it would be an old Japanese city, not busy like all Japanese cities are. I thought it would be dirt paths and green mountain and beach. But what we found was it is still Japan...busy, busy,busy. City full of people and cars and shops.

We parked and paid in a garage near the beach. A beautiful beach! We would play there after the day of walking in the hot sun.

We walked up the city in a crowd of people (or atleast, it was a crowd for the space... since we were on a tiny sidewalk going up to the same tourist spot). I had an umbrella to protect me from the sun. Ster thought it was silly but it works!  We couldn't find the sunscreen I had brought. So, we were in trouble.

Our first destination was the giant Buddha.

These demons greet you as you walk into the sight ...

 

You can see in front of Buddha the table with offerings. While we were there people came and placed offerings for Buddha.

 The sun was so bright that we feared we wouldn't get a single good picture that day. It was blinding!

Buddha was so large I could have climbed up and sat in his palm.

For 20 yen you can go inside the statue!! We did!

 
 There are giant sandals hanging and I had no idea why. So I went online...
The sandals were given as a gift with the wish that “the Great Buddha would use them to walk around Japan, bringing happiness to the people.”
 In Japan you will see statues that have bibs or other baby items placed on them. This is called Ojizosama. 

This is done in remembrance of children who have died before their own parents. Parents will place these items as remembrance but also as a wish for their passed on loved ones to be looked after by the spirits. 

 We walked back into the city for lunch. We found a restaurant to eat at before the crowds came. It was delicious!

 

 Then we went on a hike into the mountain to reach our next destination. We knew most of the people would be starting their lunch breaks from sight seeing. We also saw that everyone was crowding in the city instead of taking the hike way. So, we chose the hike. We much prefer to be in the woods than the city.

We hiked to the Zeniarai Benten Shrine. We walked through a tunnel with a fabulous cold breeze! Inside we found a common thing...a water spot for washing hands. We washed our own.

 

 

 There was a cave with a shrine inside...

 

 

 A prayer board. You write your prayer on a piece of paper and tie it up.

 

walking through the city we saw a statue we had to stop by for Athena...

 We stopped for ice cream in a cool temperature little shop because we were melting and getting sun burned. We felt lucky to find the shop. We walked a long time, passing many ice cream places, looking for one with seat. Each one we passed had so many customers we would have had to sit in the sun. But eventually we found a shop a little hidden with A/C as well.

It was a long walk from one location to another! We had hoped we would be able to see more places in a day but we were able to reach only 4.

Our 3rd stop was Tsurugaoka-hachimangu Shrine. It is so beautiful and looks like a temple but it is too small to be a temple. It is the largest shrine (aside from Buddha) in Kamakura.

 

 

 Finally we headed back to the beach. The water was pretty wild! The lifeguard had to keep everyone in the water close to the shore because it was dangerous.
We walked in the water and enjoyed the scene for a while. We made videos for our families and for ourselves. And we took pictures for our memories.

While at the beach my good friend Laura Elliott was getting ready to go to the hospital to give birth to her baby Hannah. She was in my thoughts and prayers. And luckily Hannah was born without a problem! She is healthy and beautiful!

On the drive home we got delayed just as much time as when we drove there. There happened to be an accident in a tunnel and that took forever to get passed. Then shortly after the clearing there was another traffic jam because of another accident.

We got back to the base around 7pm and got dinner at Chili's before going home.

The kids had spent the day between our house and the one next door. They love it over there with the dog Birdie. Athena played in their kiddie pool with Tristan the toddler.

The boys played with the neighbor friends Brandon and Lumin. And I allowed the boys to play electronic games during certain hours that day.

The kids didn't miss us!

It wasn't the perfect trip but overall it was amazing. It was worth it! We don't want to venture out and do it every month but...we need to once in a while.

Being at the beach made me feel guilty that the kids weren't with us. Athena had been asking for a long road trip and a beach trip too. So, right before school starts we hope to take the kids to a beach.

School starts for the boys on August 26. Kindergarten starts a week later.