Kamakura & Enoshima Island

Friday night some friends and I decided to party at a club called 'Air' in Shibuya. We were super excited to discover that this club is featured in a scene of the movie 'Lost in Translation' (with Scarlett Johansson and Bill Murray). Cover is pricy by comparison, 3500 yen and unlike many clubs - that did not include a couple of drinks. Though we lost a few girls on the way (due to an over indulgence etc.) Steph and I were set on going and having a good night! When we got there we met up with a couple of her friends and danced the night away to some great House music. The DJ was super awesome; we will definitely be going back there at least once more. Interestingly it seems this club is in some sort of residential area where there are staff that stay out on the streets to tell you not to talk on the way - it made me feel like I was on some sort of top secret mission (to party!) haha. It was strange. Another successful all-nighter in Tokyo. The Tokyo night scene is wild. Japanese people know how to party. And the boys...the pretty boys...they know how to dance! Ooooh how they steal my heart on the dance floor. It's so refreshing to see such skilled dance moves - they're great! So when I need a break from dancing I just step aside to watch the fancy foot work of my Japanese boys as they bust a move.
I will never forget those 6am walks home from the station where my night of partying is just ending as the sun is rising. Good times.

On the Sunday of last weekend I followed through with my plans to be a tourist, and went to check out a famous monument in Kamakura - "The Great Daibutsu" (or The Great Buddha). Having seen this statue only in pictures, I couldn't wait to finally lay eyes on this thing; it's kind of a BIG deal. After Kamakura we went to Enoshima Island which is close by to see what goes on over there. Sophie and I decided to join a student tour group that was organized through Keio - it made sense because it had all been organized and it would save us from staring at a map and potentially getting lost. When we met up with our group, I was surprised at the fact that the majority of 'fellow tourists' were Japanese natives who saw this as a good opportunity to meet some international students. Sophie and I were a bit late, but the group was kind enough to wait for us. When we arrived we were split into smaller groups and started on our way to Kamakura.

The weather was less than pleasant - drizzling rain all day. I had been looking forward to seeing Kamakura for a while though, so I wasn't about to let a bit of rain affect my plans. With the group, we boarded the train to Kamakura and it was a rather short walk from the station to the Great Daibutsu (maybe 15 minutes). We stopped by a cool shrine on the way where there was some sort of ritual being performed. Men dressed up in formal wear, sitting on stools as they played some neat sounding flutes. Inside there was a man reciting something. I can't say I had any clue as to what was going on, but it seemed pretty cool nonetheless. After doing a quick tour around there we continued on our way to the Great Daibutsu.

Well...I must say...it was everything I had hoped it would be and more. Truly amazing. MASSIVE. It certainly is One gigantic Buddha. I'm not a big fan of hanging out in the rain, but I think it added a pretty cool and somewhat mystical effect. For 20 yen you can go inside the Buddha; a small price to pay for a once-in-a-life-time experience. (How many people can say they've been inside a Buddha?) So I jumped at the opportunity. I don't know what I was expecting...but there was really nothing inside. haha, I guess no one would furnish the inside of a Buddha - but there was no attempt to decorate it either. If I had to describe it: it was like being inside an extraordinarily large...Buddha statue. Like a big, rounded, metal, room.
Yep - that was it. But I guess the point is...I was inside a Buddha. Sugoi!
After exiting the Buddha, I stood in front for a while unable to take my eyes off it. I took some more pictures before being interrupted by a group of the cutest little kids. They were probably about 7 or 8 years old and on a class field trip. They bashfully approached me to ask if they could have a picture with me. Gosh! Japanese kids are the cutest thing, so naturally I couldn't resist.
After leaving the Buddha we began a hunt for somewhere to stop for lunch. We ended up at a little Soba place. (Soba = long, thin, whole wheat noodles - served hot or cold). I went with a very traditional soba meal, plain, cold noodles, topped with dried sea weed, that you dip into a little bowl of soy, mixed with onion and wasabi. Yummm!

We had some time to kill after lunch. This was when Sophie and I noticed the downfall of being a member in a tour group - there is a schedule to follow. For some reason it would have been a problem to break this rigid schedule and move along to our next destination (even if it made perfect sense to do so). Oh well. We walked around a bit with our group and found a little ice cream shop. Here I decided to be slightly adventurous and try out one of Japan's unique flavours - a macha (green tea) and sweet potato mix! (uhm?...sweet potato?) It tasted a bit 'soapy' but it wasn't bad.However, I think next time I will stick with the tried, tested, and true Macha flavour! it's mild tasting, it's green, and it's delicious everytime.

Finally we got back on schedule and head back to the station. Next stop: Enoshima Island.
I didn't know what the attraction was on this island, temple? monument? shrine? -- it turned out to be none of these. The attraction was the island itself. beautiful. We crossed a lengthy bridge to get there, and were told that we had 'free time' to just wander around. Sophie and I just stuck with the tour guides (they were bound to know the good spots). Apparently the tako chips are a cool snack to enjoy in this area. There was a pretty long line up for these puppies, so Sophie and I decided to see what all the fuss was about and shared a big tako chip. Before we tried it, we witnessed how they're made. In case you're interested... these chips are made by taking a (dead) octopus, or at least a large chunk of one (generally the bottom half, you know, the tenticles and such), dipping it in some sort of liquid flour mix, and then squishing it in a large hot press until it turns into one big chip!! (cool eh?) and that's how you make tako chips! (a great little snack for serving at parties).

After that, we followed our tour guides to check out the rest of the island. One thing to be noted about this island is the stairs! - I have never seen, let alone climbed so many stairs in my life. I gather this island is a mountainous one, seeing as you can't really get anywhere without hiking up flights, upon flights of stairs. If the rain, and my sopping wet feet weren't enough to put a damper on this little excursion the stairs would do it. In spite of the utter beauty surrounding me, there were times when it was hard to enjoy myself as I was gasping for air. However, being in a group helped me to surpress my physical strain as much as possible...looking tough - if not - perhaps remotely fit and able (hahaha). That being said, when we made it to the ocean side and a gorgeous rocky area to soak up the atmosphere I couldn't have been happier to enjoy a view (or maybe enjoy standing in one place to recuperate). Seriously, the view was really lovely (well...at least that which was within 6ft. of me, the fog was a bit of an issue...haha). Water...rocks...breathing. - totally worth the strenuous stair climb. --wait a minute..."Hey guys, how are we getting back?" ........uh oh. Surely enough, we were heading back the same way we came, climbing up...and down...the same, and the many...flights of stairs. I thought my legs would collapse. My legs were trembling. My body hated me. But I made it ! How rewarding..right?
At this point I couldn't wait to get back to my nice warm room. The good news is, I took some great pictures! While I can be a bit of a drama queen I maintain that every experience in Japan is a good experience - rain or shine. I'm really happy that I got to see those cool places, the Buddha is truly marvelous, and Enoshima Island...well...equally astonishing...and...a great workout! (Bonus!)

Besides these key events, I've been attending classes regularly, going to the gym, still teaching English lessons, and recently ....got hired at Abercrombie & Fitch. An all-American brand name. This is the same store that I described in a previous blog with tons of floors, dimmed lights, booming music, and dancing models - it feels like a night club. It also happens to be in Ginza on Tokyo's 'Rodeo Drive' equivalent (but better!). I signed the contract on Monday and will be having my training in a couple of days (Sunday). I will have to give you the update later to let you all know how that goes! I'm excited to meet new people (models) haha, to make some cash (I could use some of that), and of course, to reap the benefits of my staff discount (though I've never been a huge fan of this brand, I'm sure I'll manage find something - I always do).

Hard to believe that I'm already half way through my exchange! It's so weird to feel like I've been here forever, and for such a short while at the same time. In one sense I feel settled and comfortable here, as if I've lived here for so long - but at the same time, I only just got here and now have just two more months before I will have to pack up and part ways with the country I fell in love with. - but I can't think about that now.


So much LOVE. xoxo