Side-trip to Kamakura, Japan

(I had this blog post in my draft since July 2, 2013. I’ve decided to just post this up despite the lack of text. A picture speaks a thousand words, I guess.)

Act I: Reaching town

The trip to Kamakura in 2012 was totally impromptu. I was planning to head to Yokohama with my N’EX and Suica package but changed my mind when I saw that the ticket covers Kamakura.

Despite being a city person, I love old towns more than cities. The trip to Kamakura from the airport was quite long. I fell asleep on the train.

The sky was cloudy when I reached. It took me a while to find an empty locker to store my luggage.

Act II Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū

Stone lantern burning thing, Gift from sugar store to the shrine

Art exhibition at Kanagawa Modern art museum

Solemn ceremony but we all gawked impolitely

Little boy tripped on steps at Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū

Act III Before, during, after the rain

It was pouring when I left the shrine. I stood at the corner of a street to wait for the rain to stop a little. It didn’t stop that much.

#FoodFri Glutton in Kamakura + Tokyo

In case you don’t know. I love Japanese food very very much.

During my short work trip to Japan, I had a few days to roam around eating.

Instead of flooding everyone with too many yummy food, I’m splitting the meals into different days.

For today, we’re having meals from Day 1: Lunch at Kamakura and Dinner in Tokyo.

Day 1

Zaru soba at Kamakura Karari

I took a side trip to Kamakura on day 1 because my N’EX and Suica package includes the Kamakura stop.

I was really hungry when I walked on the streets of Kamakura. But I did not dare pop into casual-looking but surely expensive cafes so I wandered around.

I found several people waiting outside Karari. I entered the doors but was asked to wait outside and write my name on a piece of paper.

Kamakura soba restaurant kitchen — Karari restaurant kitchen

It was an open kitchen concept restaurant. The chefs fried tempura while the customers watched. The second floor was for tour groups so I was stuck downstairs.

The meal was great. I loved the free flow of cold tea as well.

Yayoiken at Minami-senju

The restaurant near my hotel at Minami-senjuu had coupon machines at the door (like Nakau!).

I chose a pork chop set because Japanese katsu is delicious! There’s even unlimited refill of rice if you’re hungry.

Unfortunately, my pork smelled in a bad way. At least the miso soup was ok.

Day 1 of Japan: Best plans change

Hello folks,

In case you don’t know, I’m now in Japan. I’ll be in Tokyo for a week for a work trip. The first two days are my free day and my real work will start on Monday evening.

Today, I went to Kamakura despite preparing for Yokohama. I found out that my N’EX and Suica package covers Kamakura so I decided to visit the ancient city.

I didn’t do much preparations for Kamakura (the prep I actually did for Kamakura was accidental and is part of the last bit on Yokohama that I photocopied from Lonely Planet).

It worked out of course, nothing a bit of walking around and getting lost won’t help (I hate asking for directions). Until tomorrow!