as i was saying

So back to Kamakura. Kamakura is a little town outside of Tokyo, about an hour away by train. This was my first experience outside the lights and glimmer of Tokyo, and into Japan's rural side. As I said below, Kamakura is a popular tourist destination with temples, shrines and statues bursting from its seams. You're greeted by your first shrine just minutes away from the train station, and as you hoof it through town, they're tucked into every nook and cranny. Many are made entirely out of wood (which also explains why some are rebuilt after the original - much of Japan burned down at one point or another due to the highly flammable wood construction of most buildings.)

Perhaps the biggest attraction in Kamakura is Great Buddha. Kamakura's giant statue is the second largest Buddha in Japan, is made of bronze and weighs nearly 100 tons. To get to Buddha, we decided to take the trail less traveled and hiked through the forest instead of making our way through the local streets. It was a beautiful hike, albeit confusing at times, as the whole concept of trail markers hasn't quite caught on - above I'm standing by what we thought was something of an indication of path. Could've just been a grave marker. Or perhaps a local artist's painting ground.

I've included a smattering of photos from the day.