We took the trains to Kamakura today to see the big buddha (Daibutsu) and he really was big! Bigger in person than in pictures I suppose! The day was lovely out, with lots of sun, a bit of wind and not too hot. Lauren fell asleep in the pram at the Daibutsu but we had lunch there after she woke up. Nicole and Evan went into the buddha to see what it looks like from the inside, but it wasn’t that interesting. Ironically near the smoking area were two massive getta made out of straw or something. I would have thought they would be a fire hazard, but anyways, there you are.
After the daibutsu we went to another temple just around the corner called Hasedera which was beautiful. They had some amazing gardens with Koi swimming in them. There was also a little waterfall, with big bamboo pipes sourcing the water. A short walk up the stairs were the temples and a section called Kyozo, which has a rotating rinzo (bookrack) of all the buddhist sutras, or recorded teachings of buddha. Apparently by turning the rinzo, you could get the same benefit as reading all the sutras!
Here’s a brilliant site on the Kamakura Hasedera (looks like there’s one of the same name in Nara)
(you can click on the map for different parts of the temple!)
The kids were pretty tired from all the adventure today and slept so soundly!