Kamakura Ponderings
02.04.2024
16 °C
Mount Fuji, the unmistakeable symbol of Japan, glistened in the afternoon sun as we sped by on the Nozomi super-express shinkansen from Nagoya to Yokohama…
It takes under an hour and a half to cover the 325 kilometres between cities non-stop, and there are at least six trains every hour throughout the day. From Yokohama we took a local train to Kamakura – once a political capital but now a touristy seaside city jammed with visitors hoping to see the blossoms and the Buddhas… 
Kamakura has fifteen large temples and shrines so it’s difficult to avoid them altogether. This is a lantern amid the bamboos in the grounds of the relatively peaceful Hokokuji Temple on the outskirts of the city…
While the Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine in the heart of the city is a must for every visitor…
And, finally, we hit the ecclesiastical jackpot at the Kotokuin Temple with yet another Buddha for the record books…
The 45-foot high Daibutso Buddha was cast in 1252 and has survived several typhoons and tsunamis. Unfortunately, the hall in which it was housed was less robust. However, the nearby Hasedera complex has numerous shrines and temples along with thousands of jizo bodhisattva statues helping the souls of deceased children to reach paradise…
We are now going ‘commando’, but that doesn’t mean an absence of underwear. We are simply travelling without luggage by using the fast and reliable courier that shuttles suitcases from hotel to hotel, saving us from lugging them on and off trains…
We just carry a few necessities and rely on the hotels to provide us with almost everything while our stuff leapfrogs ahead and awaits us in Tokyo. But such convenience comes at a cost - and we don’t mean the price. It’s the plastic…
It is the completely unnecessary packaging that we find distressing: from throwaway plastic slippers to single-use plastic toothbrushes, razors, eyeshades, hairnets, combs, and a half dozen other toiletries. Not only are they hermetically sealed in plastic, but they come in a cardboard box and a plastic bag. The Japanese are so proud of their water supply that they have signs on hotel taps saying it’s safe to drink – but they still insist on giving us plastic water bottles along with all the other plastics.
While many countries are clamping down on plastic packaging and bags, Japan seems to be going the other way. Although stores now charge three cents for a plastic bag, almost everything we buy is already double or triple wrapped…
Every biscuit in this packet was in its own plastic pouch, and the store clerk would have put the whole packet in a plastic bag if we hadn’t stopped him. And these three croissants would have been quite happy together in a paper bag at home – but not here where they were individually swathed in plastic… 
The baker's girl would have put them in another plastic bag if we hadn't stopped her, and single onions, carrots, grapefruits and even bananas, are often individually wrapped in the supermarkets. More about grocery shopping next time when we head to our final stop in Tokyo..
The lantern amongst the bamboo is lovely. Transportation seems to be a fine art in Japan, especially the luggage transporter between hotels. For the traveller this must be heaven.
by Sue Fitzwilson