January 13th (Wednesday)

Today I had to be at the bus stop at 8:20am, which meant that I had to be up an extra hour early. Okaasan was a trooper and got up to fix me up a light breakfast and then I was off to catch a train. The weather has turned to the cold side and it has begun to snow on the west coast of Japan. Hopefully it doesn't hit Tokyo this week while we are here!

Today we took a bus tour of Kamakura, Japan. We drove about an hour and forty-five minuets to Kamakura where we started off checking out the Engakuji shrine. This shrine was one of five main one in Kamakura and was not that busy, which was a great opportunity to take some really good photos! We could also climb many, many, many, flights of stairs to a view point on the western mountain range, which was absolutely beautiful. There was a great view of the city with the mountains in the background.

After the first shrine, we continued into Kamakura to see another big shrine, the Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine, and the nearby lake. I grew tired of it quickly and took to the shopping district close by and walked for about a hour up and down the side streets embracing the daily culture.

We departed the Hachimangu Shrine to see the Great Buddha! It was amazing to see this world-recognized landmark! I took lots of pictures and even got to go inside the Buddha!! Truly on off the highlights of the day!! We then walked over to a garden outside the Hase-Dera shrine and the sun was setting which made for some perfect pictures!!

That was the last stop on the bus tour of Kamakura as we drove home along the coast line and to a sunset! A perfect finish to another perfect day! The karaoke machine on the bus provided some entertainment as we got to watch everyone perform their favorite songs in Japanese! Along the way home we got to see Tokyo Disney and the Tallest Ferris wheel in Tokyo from the highway.

When I got home my family took me out to eat at a Chinese restaurant where I got to try some things I have never had before, which is a theme of this trip when it comes to mean time =)

Tomorrow we have class and a lecture over Japanese Enka (folk-lore) and the temperatures should make getting to class very fun =(

That's all for today! Hope you enjoyed! See ya tomorrow!