The Buddha and me

The weekend just gone, I went to Kamakura to visit the Great Buddha, 11.4m of bronze statue, completed in 1252. It was originally house in a huge hall, but that was washed away by a tsunami in 1495 and it's been outside, battling the weather ever since.

Kamakura is a seaside town an hour or so from Tokyo and feels like a million miles away from the urban sprawl. There are plenty of temples and shrines to visit, but I opted to simply take the old coastal train up to Kita Kamakura, north of Kamakura itself, and walk the 2k woodland trail to the Great Buddha before heading back to Tokyo.

It was a little muddier than I had anticipated, but it was a great walk nonetheless. It was also really quiet, which was a relaxing escape from the noise of the city. Below are some pictures from the walk.