Date & Time: Friday, October 4, 10:40 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Spots: Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine, Eishoji Temple, Jufukuji Temple, Genjiyama-Park, Zeniaraibenzaiten Shrine, Kotoku-in Temple (Great Buddha), Hasedera Temple, Yuigahama Beach
Visitors: A German couple in their 20s
Attendant: 1 KSGG member
Languages: German and English
A German couple, Tracy and Patrick, visited Kamakura because one of their friends who likes Japan so much recommended it. After Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine, we went to Eishoji Temple by way of Komachi-dori Street. Tracy and Patrick were impressed with the main gate of that temple, the cluster-amaryllis in full bloom, and the bamboo grove, which is a well-kept secret place and can’t be found on the Internet easily.
In front of the post called Haiku*1 Post at Jufukuji Temple, I asked them to compose a haiku about Kamakura, as a memory of the tour. Tracy was bitten by a mosquito at the mountain-path of Genjiyama-Park, so they bought some cream called “Muhialpha EX” at a pharmacy to stop the itching. It was very effective; the swelling and the itch went down in an hour. He said, “I’ve never applied this kind of medicine. I want to buy a lot and sell them in Germany!”
Although it was past two o’clock, we put off lunch and walked around Kotoku-in Temple (Great Buddha) and Hasedera Temple. At the end of the tour, at dusk, with the wind blowing, they enjoyed playing with the waves at Yuigahama Beach, where a typhoon had just passed. Later, I received a short poem. “Wind pustet am Strand, das Wasser zum Wellenberg, Füße werden nass (Howling wind, High waves, My feet get wet.) Thank you for the nice haiku in German. I am glad if our trip to Kamakura became a good memory for them.
*1: Haiku is a very short form of Japanese poetry in three sentences going in the order 5 syllables 7 syllables and then 5 again. Haiku is one part of Japanese culture.