Kamakura with the Browns

My sister Lisa and her husband Brent came to visit us in Tokyo.  Our first trip with them was to Kamakura.  This is where we tried to take Michelle and Dallin and ended up at "Pub Snack" (blah).  This time we tried getting there via the subway instead.  Success!

We stopped at a conveni to grab onigiri for lunch and had a picnic.  Lisa was newly pregnant and was still in the "super nauseous" phase, and yet she was able to eat a salmon rice ball with seaweed.  Go Lisa! Brent ate everything and anything, even when he did not know what it  was.  Sometimes I thought he chose something completely awful, and when he ate it, he'd say "well, its not my favorite, but its not bad".  Wow.

We had a hike through forests and some small towns with unusual places along the way.  At the top of a mountain, we found a shrine where for 100 yen you could throw a ceramic plate and make a wish.  Emma used her own money for the opportunity to be destructive.

We went through a cave with layers and layers of hanging "crane" origami.  It was beautiful.

A sacred water station in the mountains

... for hand cleansing and drinking... but only Brent was brave enough to drink it... he really wanted to experience everything.

Inside a cave was a MONEY WASHING shrine... 

washing your money in holy water is supposed to bring you more fortune

A hillside of tiny dog guardian statues

And for the grand finale... 

the giant Buddha

13.3 meters/ 43 feet

(Kamakura Daibutsu)

Built in 1252 and housed in a temple that was destroyed by a tidal wave in the early 1400's.  

The Buddha statue was unharmed during the tidal wave and has remained out in the open ever since.

A kiss for luck

  

 Thanks babe for this super fun adventure!