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Daibutsu aka The Great Buddha of Kamakura
Since I was already in Kamakura, I figured it’d do me some good to at least visit the Great Buddha aka Daibutsu of Kotokuin Temple. After all, the Great Buddha was one of the things I had wanted to see in Kamakura. Unfortunately, Kotokuin Temple, like many other temples and shrines in Japan had an admission fee. While I understand how financially helpful it may be for places of worship to collect admission fees, I couldn’t help but to feel bitter about it.
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Kamakura’s Shonan R134
Kamakura. The first thing that enters people’s minds when Kamakura is mentioned is probably the city’s Big Buddha. If not the Big Buddha, then the city’s many shrines and temples. There’s a reason Kamakura is known as “Little Kyoto” after all.
But what Kamakura doesn’t seem to be known for is it’s beach or beaches, I should say. If you stray from the shrines and temples, you’ll find yourself reaching R134. What is R134? It is a road along the coast and it’s beautiful. (Think Pacific Coast Highway but a tad bit different and shorter.)
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Okayama Castle
When I was in Okayama, I visited Okayama Castle. The grounds are free which is great for people that just want to take a stroll or view the castle exterior. As a cheapskate, I pondered the idea of paying 300 yen to enter this castle. Considering the fact that I had never gone inside a Japanese castle, I decided to just go for it.
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Okayama City
My first time in Okayama was by chance. I was riding the shinkansen and needed to get off at Okayama station in order to board yet another shinkansen. Since I had thought about visiting Okayama before, I pondered the idea of exiting the station, staying overnight in Okayama and doing a lot of sightseeing the following day.
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Kagoshima Fail
The idea of going to the southernmost part of Japan via shinkansen is thrilling. Of course, ideas and realities are two different things and if it isn’t already obvious from my title, my visit to Kagoshima was a fail.
First of all, I wasn’t supposed to be in Kagoshima; I was supposed to be in Hiroshima. The plan was to visit Hiroshima’s WWII areas. If time was on my side, I figured I’d just visit Miyajima Island again.
So, how in the world did my trip itinerary change from Hiroshima to Kagoshima? (The cities are 550 km apart!)