Kamakura - we did it so right.

Usually when we plan an outing, a daytrip, or even select a city to visit, no amount of due diligence yields perfect results.  Invariably the train we thought we'd take doesn't run on the 3rd Tuesday of the month, the beach we wanted to go to closes precisely on August 22nd, the concert is sold out, the restaurant has burned down, the moon is waning, the protesters, the hurricane, the plague, etc. 

Which is why, on the train home from Kamakura, there was some mighty fist bumping and self-congratulations on the execution of a perfect day.  Even the German judge gave it a 10. 

This website has the pertinents, if you're in the hood:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2166.html

Kamakura is a suburb of Tokyo, about an hour by train to the southeast.  We packed up the night before, e-mailed ourselves a few maps, and were on the train from Shibuya by 10:20 the next morning.  Considering that my old job required me to be in the office at 7 a.m. for conference calls several times a week, its amazing how difficult I find getting out of the house by 9:30.  Alas, we cleared the hurdle and boarded the train like sleep deprived puppies.

We got off at the Kita-Kamakura station at the north of the city.  I share this detail because we later departed via the south station, which meant we had an entire day of wandering and hiking with no doubling back.  Which was key.  I have an irrational hatred of covering the same ground twice.  So inefficient.

Although I came armed with maps and the GPS (for once) the Kamakuran tourist lovers have posted the city so that even the dimmest of Westerners can enjoy it without losing their way.  We started at the Jochiji Temple, which is nestled in a thick forest of thousand year old cypress trees.  Any reader of this blog knows that we have been to a mind numbing array of temples on this trip, but this one goes on the highlight reel.  As their handout will plainly and humbly state it is only the 4th most important Zen temple in Kamakura, but for me its the numero uno gordita.

Next to the Jochiji Temple is the Daibutsu hiking trail, which is windy and wooded.  Its a gorgeous walk full of staircases made of ancient tree roots, plus there are spurs leading to parks and temples along the way.  It spit us out right near the Great Buddha, which is Kamakura's big draw.  There were some American delegates there making thoroughly inappropriate jokes to their Japanese diplomat hosts about the size and shape of Buddha's ears.  Really made me swell with pride (again) to be from the US.  Let's just say I did NOT return their 'am I right fellow Westerner?' smiles.  0 points for those dudes.

Anyway, this Buddha is RAD:

After lunch and Kamakura's special ice cream (purple potato flavored) we headed to the Hasedera temple.  Though not as sublime and serene as the first temple, this one has its own merits: beach views, a winding multi-caved cave, and a million tiny Buddhas.  Though I am admittedly claustrophobic, the series of "rooms" inside the cave, which were full of carvings, alters and statues was awesome.  And I only almost freaked out, like, one time.  Which, considering we couldn't stand up straight was pretty remarkable.

The last stop on our walk from one end of town to the other was the beach.  Kamakura is a well known surfing spot and the locals have become accordingly obsessed with all things Hawaiian.  There are hula schools, board shops, a taco stand, and plenty of grungy pick ups on display in tribute to prevailing surf culture.  Gnarly.

There are about a bazillion more temples and other important artifacts to see in Kamakura.  But it was nice to leave feeling like the town merited a return trip.  Plus, we learned a valuable lesson about day trip destinations.  To recap, a perfect day trip requires the following elements:

• Seats on the train in both directions
• A linear journey through the destination with no retrodden ground
• At least one specialty food item that doesn't make me ralph
• Something spiritual for learning but also very pretty for looking at
• Hiking that is hard enough to justify eating said specialty food but not so hard that we don't have enough energy left for spirituality
• Beaches
• Fake Hawaiian culture*

*optional

Travelin' on the T99

We arrived in HK on Thursday, after that glorious 20 hour train ride I mentioned.  Usually I leave the logistical rundown to Ed, but in this instance I'm going to broadcast.  And, since we're out of mainland China and not re-upping our visas, I'm going to be perfectly candid.  Perhaps the internet monitors will pass my feedback along to the appropriate infrastructure division.  Heh.

Traveling between places in China is a pain in the arse.  Even when we'd done our research and knew with certainty what we were trying to achieve it was a shit show.  Purchasing train tickets to HK required 2 trips to the main train station and 2 trips to satellite offices.  Probably 5-6 hours were wasted following directions from hotel staff and China Railway counter people who had not one shred of a clue between them what they were talking about.  I mean, I could have used that time to further my study of Confucianism.  Or to have more acupressure foot massage.


Eventually, I scored the super deluxe tickets and was assured (believe me, I asked for confirmation more times than was polite) that we would be in a car with only 2 bunks and a private bathroom.  And each of us was, just in adjacent different cars, shared with strangers.

This isn't the first or the third time this has happened to us in China.  Fortunately, the sweet old man in my lower bunk swapped tickets with Ed, and all was resolved.  The rest of the evening, as we shelled peanuts and played cards and watched Modern Family on the laptop, we joked about my doing those things with the 88 year old from Shanghai instead of Ed.  About he and I hitting the dining car to share some mapu tofu, lying in our bunks talking about our hopes and dreams, or watching the passing scenery.  We were happy it didn't shake out that way, but the montage was hilar. 

Overall, we had a blast on the trip here and like the idea of traveling by long distance train again.  It went by so fast and was far less stressful and more comfortable than air travel.  The one major malfunction was the smoke.  Seemingly all men over age 12 in China are chain smokers.  I read that 27% of Chinese people don't believe that smoking and lung disease are related.  They're chimneys and there is no escaping.  Unfortunately on a train without open windows, this means that the ventilation system cycles smoke from the hallway through the cabin vents, where it lands on your pillow.  I woke up completely congested and lost my voice the next day.

10 points train travel, 0 points HVAC.