When I booked my trip to Tokyo, I had no plans to go outside the city because I thought it wouldn’t work with my tight budget. So when my friend Sophie suggested we take a trip to Kamakura and told me it was only a short train ride away, I was thrilled! I didn’t look up the location before we went, I didn’t want to build up any expectations.
The main street leading to the shrine had all kinds of small shops, restaurants and food stands. I wish I had a picture of the range of matcha ice creams that came in different shades of green. Some were honestly as dark as the leaves of the trees. At the shrine we managed to crash one wedding and the surrounding garden had a very serene pond and probably the most beautiful bathroom I’ve ever seen.
The best part of the trip was however when we visited the Hokokuji Temple and Bamboo garden. I had never seen growing bamboo before! It was definitely a place where I had a “I can’t believe I’m here” moment. It was pure joy, serenity and tourist frenzy all at the same time. To call the place very zen would be a big understatement.
How cool is this tree!
At this point I had seen a couple of shrines but I never got tired of the colours and the detailed craftsmanship.
The garden surrounding the shrine was increadibly serene, if we weren’t on a tight schedule I would have sat there for hours.
The pond had some very cute inhabitants.
The garden also had the most beautiful public bathroom I’ve ever seen! This image doesn’t do it justice.
There were hydrangeas everywhere and I of course couldn’t stop photographing them.
We had some soba noodles before heading to the Hokokuji Temple. I had never eaten cold noodles before! It’s such a simple but so delicious dish. The Vivaldi playing in the background somehow heightened the meal even more.
Despite the amount of other bamboo enthusiastic tourists around me, this place still had a calming effect on me.
The images I took of these ladies are some of my favourite during the entire trip. I just love their kimonos.
Bamboooooooooo!
This bamboo garden was definitely one of the highlights of my entire trip.
That’s my “OMG, can you believe the amount of bamboo” face. Slightly shocked but very happy tourist. Thank you Sophie for taking me to this very special place.
