During "Welcome to Japan School" we took a fieldtrip to Kamakura in the Kanagawa prefecture, which is about a twenty minute train ride from Yokosuka. This was a great opportunity to 1) learn to navigate the train system and 2) get out away from base and see some Japanese history in person. The trains were not so complicated if you pay attention (that will be my number one problem with them), and the shrine was pretty incredible to see in person.
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| tour guides |
Kamakura was chosen to be the capitol of Japan by Minamoto Yoritomo, the first shogun, in 1192. Over a century later, the capitol was moved to Kyoto (Tokyo). There is a very large shrine in Kamakura that Minamoto had built to honor the gods in prayers for a safe birth of his second child, his first son, who would later go on to become shogun.
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| Kamakura shrine |
The day we visited was their bean-throwing holiday, so there were a lot of people there. They throw beans to signify throwing out the bad spirits and luck and to welcome in good fortune for the new year.
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| prayers/wishes to the gods |
| Even old shrines have tourist traps... I paid 100 Yen to get my fortune. There are god fortunes and bad fortunes... I paid for BAD fortune. So not cool Japan. Our tour guide quickly helped me tie up the fortune on one of these ropes, so that I could wish to the gods for a better fortune. Note to self: don't pay for fortunes... it's disappointing. I have decided I would just rather not know. |  |
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| my favorite spectator |
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| awesome candy-coated strawberries |
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| entrance to shrine, guarded by dog statues |
The red gate is how you know that you are entering a Shinto shrine versus and Buddhist temple because sometimes the structures themselves look similar. The gate is guarded by a pair of stone dog statues.
| Before entering the shrine, you must purify your body. You scoop up some water and rinse both hand, then put some of the water in your mouth and spit it out. Every single person does this prior to entering the shrine. |  |
| Other than paying for a bad fortune, the trip was a success. I didn't get lost, got to see some more of Japan, and got to wish for good fortune for the year to come... |
During "Welcome to Japan School" we took a fieldtrip to Kamakura in the Kanagawa prefecture, which is about a twenty minute train ride from Yokosuka. This was a great opportunity to 1) learn to navigate the train system and 2) get out away from base and see some Japanese history in person. The trains were not so complicated if you pay attention (that will be my number one problem with them), and the shrine was pretty incredible to see in person.
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