Today I got up early and after about 1.5h on trains I made it to Kamakura. This was the capital of Japan for a while about 900 years ago.
I walked to a number of historical places in Kamakura: Engaku-ji, Zeniarai Benten, the famous Daibutsu, Hase-Dera, Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gu, and Kencho-ji. I took the Daibutsu Hiking Course for much of the way, which was very hilly trail going through the forest. There were a lot of school kids out on field trips and and on their own visiting the same kind of sites. It was so hot and humid though. My eyes were stinging from all my sweat.
I found a 100 Yen shop, which is the equivalent to a Dollar Store. And they still the same kinds of things too. It is nice to know not everything has to be expensive in Japan.
After walking back to the train station, I took a train to nearby Yokohama, the second largest city in Japan. I didn’t have all day, but I visited the Shin Yokohama Raumen Museum. They have a historical 1950’s city reproduction with different style shops were you can eat. I ate a bowl at one one called Harukiya. However, I don’t think this place was really worth it for me since I don’t have any nostalgia for any of the things there.
To get back to Tokyo it was a good chance to take a bullet train, or Shinkansen. Seeing an express bullet train fly by a train station was kind of scary. It was just in view for a few quick seconds. I see why they have guardrails on the platforms there.