Day 4: Kamakura & Yokohama

Today we decided to do a day-trip south of Tokyo as the forecast called for rain and thunder storms. We made our way by train to Kamakura first. Here in Japan the high temperature of the day occurs between 11 am-1 pm, so by the time we arrived at Kamakura station, the air outside was like a sauna (one thermometer read 100 degrees where there was no breeze). We're both getting used to the heat, though! Sweating constantly is not so bad as it was our first couple days. Having handkerchiefs to wipe sweat and hand fans makes a HUGE difference, too. I see a lot of people using both. Anyway, we took a cute little electric train from Kamakura station to Hase station, and from there it was a 5-10 min walk to the Great Buddha. Along the way were many shops and restaurants, plenty geared towards foreigners. I probably saw more foreigners along that road than total so far in Japan! We paid 200 yen (about $2) to enter the small temple complex where the buddha lies. The bronze statue was originally cast in ~1250 AD and was enclosed by a temple. However, years later a tidal wave destroyed the temple, so now the buddha is open to the elements. It was quite large, though only the 2nd largest in Japan, and interesting to look at. Being a Tuesday, it wasn't very crowded, even though this is a major tourist spot. It was nice to stroll around the grounds. We sat down with drinks among the green foliage for a few minutes and enjoyed the peace despite a choir of cicadas serenading us. (They are everywhere here.)

After visiting the Great Buddha, we took the cute train back to Kamakura station and then hopped a local line for Yokohama. It was a very busy place there and we followed the sea of people to the shopping district that was our destination. The Landmark Plaza, where we ended up shopping and eating a late lunch, is a large mall connected to the Landmark Tower, the 3rd tallest structure & the tallest building in Japan. We found a nice Japanese restaurant to eat at and relatively successfully ordered in Japanese. :)

Two last comments and then I'll call it quits for tonight.
1) It may just be me, but at least 10 times a day, no matter where I am, I feel like I am swaying. Japan does have daily earthquakes, so maybe I'm feeling little tiny quakes or something? :P
2) On our way back from Yokohama, we experienced our first storm. We just made it onto a train and it began to POUR. BUCKETS. Not only that, but there was really strong lightning and thunder. The train actually sat at the station for about 5-10 min so the storm could pass!