[Date & Time] Thursday, October 6, 10:00 – 19:30
[Spots] From Kitakamakura Station to Kamakura Station, through Jochiji Temple, Kuzuharaoka Hill hiking trail, Kuzuharaoka Shrine, Genjiyama Park (lunch), Zeniaraibenzaiten Shrine, Kuzuharaoka Hillside walk, Kotokuin Temple, Hasedera Temple, Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine, Komachi Dori Street (dinner)
[Visitors] 6 Israelis: a couple, their two children and two friends
[Attendants] 2 KSGG members
[Language] English
To kick off the tour we bought lunch, and made a beeline for the Kuzuharaoka Hill along a hiking trail of a little under 1 km. In the Genjiyama Park we had a picnic lunch of rice balls. The tourists were surprised by the figure of the Benzaiten deity in Zeniaraibenzaiten Shrine, because she had a female face with a snake body. (Zeni are the coins used in the old days. Zeniarai literally means coin-washing.) According to folklore, washing zeni there doubles your money in the future. Naturally, all the visitors worked hard on zeniarai. The trail from Kuzuharaoka to Koutokuin Temple was hard because it had hills that go up and down, so we were a bit exhausted. At Kotokuin, the visitors were impressed with the giant statue of Buddha. We recharged ourselves there by eating shaved ice and ice cream. The Israeli tourists were amazed again at the Hase Kannon, and were shocked at seeing a crow there, telling us that they’d never seen such a big one in their country.
The visitors had six SUICAs, the prepaid cards to take public transportationsin Japan. They used the cards in the Tokyo area the day before, and took Enoden trains with them today. The father within the group held all the cards with him and managed to pay the fares, because they were not quite sure how to use the SUICA. At Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine, the group listened to the legend of Genji and Heishi ponds, and counted the number of islets in the ponds to check the legend. Then, we had dinner near Kamakura Station. After the meal, one of the visitors recalled the unforgettable taste of Yukimi Daifuku, a lump of ice cream wrapped in a skin of rice cake. As the visitors insisted on eating it, I spotted a nearby store to buy it. We completed a long day of excursion, enjoying the delicacy of Yukimi Daifuku.
