Graduating Japan

Threshold

We await the next train to ride south to Kamakura. These first mornings in Japan have been rough for my mom and I. The time difference is no joke.

I was awake before the hotel cafe opened this morning, with its amazing charcoal roasted coffee (sumiyaki), so I went out on my own for an emergency backup.

My mom says she's been awake since some devil-hour like 3:00 AM. I don't know how she's alive.

Amulets

We exit the train and make our way on foot down the long, tree lined path, Dankazura, to the large Shinto shrine at its end.

Tenugui

After descending from the temple, we enjoy meandering in the quiet shade of large trees.

White bait

"I think it's just a white fish," Laura suggests when I ask what the restaurant special translated "white bait" might be. That sounds pretty safe so I order a kind of sampler plate with some fried, some boiled and some raw.

You scream, we all scream

Since visiting the shrine, we've been walking Kamakura's narrow streets lined with small shops and restaurants.

Macha ice cream was a welcome way to wash down the baby eels

After lunch, we take a bus the short distance to