One thing I’ve underestimated so far this trip is the complexity of the train networks in Tokyo and the surrounding area. I thought I had it all figured out during my 11 day trip to Kyushu and Chūgoku in September this year – but I’ve realized that the train networks in those two areas are sedate in comparison to the complex networks in this part of Japan. In fact, one ang mo dude even voluntarily approached us at Yokohama Station just now asking if we needed help, and when we assured that we were good, he quipped that that the train network in Tokyo is just nuts haha.
So, basically, on Day 02 while making our way from Anamori-inari Stn => Yokohama Stn => Minatomirai Stn => Kamakura Stn etc., we boarded the incorrect trains twice, and each time had to backtrack our way. One thing we’ve really learned by this point: is to read Google Maps’ advice carefully, make sure we’re on the right platform, and don’t just rush into the first train we see, even if it’s on the right platform.
We’d initially planned to visit four places in Kamakura: Bamboo Grove of Hokokuji, Moss Stairs of Sugimoto-dera, Myohon-ji Temple and Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū – but we ended up completing just the first two. This was largely because of the fairly long walking distances between the first two and last two locations. The adults would had been fine, but the kids would had complained all the way. The buses you say? Well, the outbound bus from Kamakura Station we were on to Hokokuji was so crowded we dreaded the thought of having to repeat the experience to other locations.
All said, we’re glad we at least went by the Bamboo Grove @ Hokokuji. We visited the almost surreal Arashiyama Bamboo Grove a decade ago and were very lucky to had been the few visitors for several minutes that morning, which provided some really memorable pictures of the grove then. The Hokoku-ji Bamboo Grove isn’t quite as large, but it has the advantage of not being nearly as crowded. There were perhaps just a dozen visitors in the gardens at Hokoku-ji, the early afternoon we visited, compared to the hundreds that are routinely jockeying daily for poses and pictures at Arashiyama. The late autumn colours made for some really beautiful pictures – and these are just a tiny selection from the stack I took. The wife also took some gorgeous shots of fallen leaves in water surfaces on her Samsung S8+ that make what I got on the Sony A73 weak!
In short: definitely a must visit. Admission is ¥300 for adults, and free for kids, and the grove and garden takes about 30 minutes to complete. A post on Kamakura itself next!
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