Kamakura

 

Engaku-ji Temple

February 18, 2026

We took a day trip today. We thought the hour-llong train ride would mean a little less walking, but we still walked over seven miles. We went first to Engaku-ji, a Zen monastery in Kamakura. It was founded in 1282. At some point, I would like to make a timeline of all the places we are visiting to see which are contemporaries. It was in this temple that prayers were offered for the souls of those who died resisting the Mongol invasions in 1274 and 1281.

Some of the buildings have Chinese-inspired thatched roofs. In one of the halls which we were not permitted to enter, there is an enshrined tooth of Gautama Buddha himself.

The temple grounds are beautiful and some of the trees were in blossom. This is a Zen Buddhist temple and if we had arrived early enough, we could have participated in a group meditation.

It is a large temple complex built into a carved-out hillside. We could have wandered more, but hopped onto the next train to make it all the way to Kamakura.

We were ready for lunch but the restaurants had long lines. We opted for a 7/11 picnic lunch, which was actually tasty. I can't get enough of their egg salad sandwiches.

We set out for for the Hasedera Temple, passing several groups of cute school children.

The Hasedera Kamakura Temple houses one of Japan's largest wooden statues of the 11-headed Kannon Buddha. Sadly, no pictures were allowed. It was carved from the same camphor tree as another Kannon Buddha in a temple in Nara. Kannon symbolizes mercy.

These little statues are called Jizo. A Jizo is a bodhisattva who instead of achieving enlightenment chooses to remain on earth as a guardian to children, travelers and the souls of the deceased. There are thousands of these statues at this temple.

Karl getting his perfect blossom shot.

These Five Needle Pine trees are carefully pruned to maintain their bonsai shapes.

These are oyster shell ema votives. According to a legend, the founder of this temple threw a statue of Kannon into the ocean in 721. The story is that the oysters attached themselves to the statue and guided it back to the shore. The shells represent gratitude that Kannon received, therefore people write notes of gratitude or their wishes and hang them on the shrine's walls.

Kamakura Buddha

We walked further to a "must see" at the Koto-in Temple to see the Kamakura Buddha. I remember studying this statue in my Asian art class. This statue was originally housed in a large temple but the building was destroyed by typhoons in the 14th and 15th centuries. The statue was cast in different sections in the 13th century, showing how sophisticated Japanese bronze casting was at that time.

This figure is Amida Buddha, the central figure in the Pure Land sect of Buddhism. This Buddha is not Gautama but a separate celestial Buddha. This figure is also an iconic figure associated with Japan.

Then we decided to walk down to the beach and check out Sagami Bay. We learned that at the right time of year, Kamakura is a surfing town! We only saw two surfers in the water and there were no waves.

We were ready for a meal before we headed home. We opted for some Dragon Burgers. Lauren's was Yuzu and Karl's was wasabi and I opted for a cheeseburger.