We were taking the train outside of Tokyo and went for an
hour ride towards Kamakura in Kanagawa Prefecture. Kanagawa is a prefecture
located in southern Kantō region of Japan.
For anyone who is interested in my post here, Kantō
region is a geographical area of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. The
region includes the Greater Tokyo Area and encompasses seven prefectures:
Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Saitama, Tokyo, Chiba, and Kanagawa. Within its
boundaries, slightly more than 45 percent of the land area is the Kantō Plain.
The rest consists of the hills and mountains that form the land borders. In
official census by the Japan Statistics Bureau, the population amounting to
approximately one third of the total population of Japan.
Kanagawa is part of the Greater Tokyo Area. Kanagawa
Prefecture is home to Kamakura and Hakone, two highly popular side trip
destinations from Tokyo.
Passing the nautical-feel of this small city, I felt overwhelmed by all the stripes top they worn and the love towards their dogs... they are so adorable!
Walking towards the Hase-dera, of course we pass some small shops, I did some small shopping and cross this sweets shop. It sells "Kintsuba," (Kamakura Itoko Komachi-dori-ten); it is a Kamakura-style Japanese sweet made by wrapping mashed pumpkin with red bean paste and baking it to moist perfection. The natural sweetness permeates every mouthful.
Sanmon, the main gate to Hase-dera
The main statue of Kannon is one of the largest wooden
statues in Japan, with a height of 9.18 mtr and is made from camphor wood and gilded
in gold. It has 11 heads, each of which represents a different phase in the
search for enlightenment...
Jizō statues at Jizō-Do
The grounds of the temple are home to hundreds of small
Jizō statues, placed by parents mourning offspring lost to miscarriage,
stillbirth, or abortion. These statues remain in place for about a year, before
being removed to make way for more statues; it is estimated that some 50,000
Jizō statues have been placed at Hase-dera since World War II.
The temple is built on two levels and also includes an
underground cave. The cave, called benten kutsu (Benzaiten Grotto), contains a
long winding tunnel with a low ceiling and various statues and devotionals to
Benzaiten, the sea goddess and the only female of the Seven Lucky Gods in
Japanese mythology.
Daikoku-do
Kakigara-Inari
Hase-dera is a Buddhist temple, yet Kakigara Inari–a small Shinto Shrine, is here within the vicinity of the temple ground. Japan takes “coexist” to a whole other level, I must say!
Shoro (belfry)
Amida-do
View over Kamakura's Sagami Bay
I could just be happy to see an ocean... ahhh... that feeling!
in front of the Kyozo (Sutra archive)
thank you all for stopping by and viewing the post...
xxx
