Epic Kamakura Day Hike

Posted on by helenkamakura

Combine three trails into an epic day-long hike around the city

Hase in the Snow

Posted on by helenkamakura

Taking a bit of a break from Kamakura in Kana to post some photos of the snowstorm from Monday, January 22. It only snows a few times a year here — sometimes only once or twice, so to get this much snow was pretty exciting, especially for this Canuck. While I didn't manage to make … Continue reading Hase in the Snow

Daibutsu in Chalk

Posted on by helenkamakura

At this spring's Hase Ichi (Hase Market), there was a big blackboard for kids to colour all over while their parents browsed booths selling knickknacks, art, and food. I've been struggling to draw the Daibutsu, but after seeing these two chalk drawings, I think I can do it.

Jizo-San, All Lined Up

Posted on by helenkamakura

Hase Dera has a little spot reserved for praying for lost babies and children. It's a beautiful area, with a stream, candles, a spot to pray, and hundreds and hundreds of statues of Jizo-san. Jizo-san protects all sorts of people, most notably children, babies and mizuko (water children). Mizuko are babies that never got a chance … Continue reading Jizo-San, All Lined Up

Textiles

Posted on by helenkamakura

Indigo-coloured fabric, traditional tie-dyeing, embroidery, weaving—Japanese textiles rock my socks. Both of these photos are from a little souvenir shop by Hase Dera. It's a fantastic little store full of used kimono, dishes, geta sandals, and all sorts of other knickknacks that are so tempting to buy. And the shopkeeper is just lovely.    

Hiking Foxes

Posted on by helenkamakura

Last Sunday, I took three of Kamakura's hikes and crammed them all together into an epic around-the-city hiking adventure.  The  Daibutsu-Kuzuharaoka hike took me from Hase to Kita-Kamakura, where I took the road that runs up to the left past Meigetsu-in to join the Ten-en course. Rather than cutting out at the Zuisen-ji path, I … Continue reading Hiking Foxes