For the first weekend of cherry blossom season, I decided to go to Kamakura. My Japanese friend who I had met in Thailand offered to guide me around because he lives there. It was really difficult to get there though because the trains were still messed up due to the earthquake, but eventually, I was able to arrive. His family's house is right by the station, so we were able to ride bikes. We went to so many temples and shrines. I don't know how far we rode bikes, but it must have been so many kilometers.
At this temple, there was a snake climbing on the wall. It was so crazy because it was a straight drop that he was climbing on. I think his home was in that hole in the cliff.
Another place we went was Hokoku-ji Temple. There is a bamboo forest here. It's really quiet and pretty.
Also, we went to this little cave thing where samurai did seppuku (ritual suicide) back in the day. Also, I can't remember the name of this temple, but below are pictures of a really cool temple by the ocean. There is a special place at the temple, which you can get access to if you ask for the key. There are these lantern stone things which I think are tombstones. Apparently, some people got into an argument, and the man was like I'm taking these with me from Kyoto to Kamakura. They are so huge. I'm not sure how they transported them.
After seeing a bunch of temples and shrines, we rode bikes along the ocean. The beach is really pretty there, and lots of people were surfing. Next time, I go to Kamakura I really want to visit this island below!!
After riding along the ocean, we went to the big buddha. It was pretty cause it started getting dark just as we arrived. The flowers were really pretty here.
After finishing our bike ride, we went to my friend's house. His mom made us lots of food. I was really happy I got to go to their house because I never get to go inside Japanese people's houses. I got to see what they ate and what she cooked, so I was so happy that I had this chance.
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