Day 6: Kamakura

Things I did not get to check off my list today:

• See the big Buddha statue.

We decided that on the way back from Kyoto, we should stop in Kamakura and see the Daibutsu (literally "big Buddha"). It is the thing to see in Kyoto. Here's a picture:

That's what we would have seen. However, the train from Kyoto took too long, and by the time we got to Kamakura, they had closed the statue. I'm not exactly sure how. I'm pretty sure he didn't go anywhere, and he's pretty big, so I think, unless they put a giant tarp over him at night, I think we could have seen him from somewhere. However, they told us at the train station (eki) that the statue would be closed by the time we got there, so we went to McDonald's, instead.

We had fries, ice cream, and giant, American-style fountain drinks, and nobody ever mentioned missing seeing Big Buddha.

Despite that, I couldn't resist when I saw this in the eki:

I guess that's as close as I'll get on this trip.

On our way home, we also stopped at another one of Japan's many gems: the 100 yen store.


Since arriving in Japan, I think my parents have visited the 100 yen store down the street from the hotel almost nightly. They go there, find exciting Japanese candy or cookies that they have never tried before, and stock up. They then run to the convenience store and buy American sodas to go with their treats. Every night. I'm pretty convinced they could have spent their entire Japan trip doing just that, and been completely happy.