[2019-10-09]
My last adventure in Yokohama was the Sankeien, a beautiful Traditional Garden. I left there at 11 a.m. because I had to continue my ride to my next city: Kamakura. It was a short distance from there, about 20km, but I saw many mountains on the map. I didn’t know how difficult it would be. But I was very excited. I was soon arriving at that small city full of temples, shrines, and fantastic views of the sea.
The coast of Kamakura and the neighboring towns is known as ‘Shonan Coast’. It’s featured in different manga and anime, including one of my favorite ones: GTO. I had so many expectations and plans for the following days around the area.
I was delighted, enjoying my ride in the countryside – small towns, beautiful scenery, few people.
But as much as I tried to avoid high mountains, one short climb was inevitable. When I arrived at it, I discovered it was worse than I imagined, but I had to take it (it was the lesser worst). I had to get off my bike to push it up the hill. It was a narrow and very transited road, and I was a bit scared because it had a lot of curves; someone could have been going too fast and hit me.
At the top of the hill, I ended up surrounded by an enormous cemetery. It looked very peaceful but a bit eerie. It was the Kamakura Cemetery – so I realized I was arriving at my destination after almost 3 hours of riding.
I continued downhill and immediately noticed temples everywhere.
The first one on my list was one I definitely recommend visiting: Hokokuji Temple. It’s located on the outskirts of Kamakura, so it’s not always crowded. And it had so many features that I was surprised.
This temple is renowned for its bamboo forest. I read that it rivaled the famous one in Arashiyama, Kyoto. Not really. But you can enjoy a much more peaceful experience; without the large crowds that characterize the Kyoto one.
I enjoyed a walk between the bamboo while appreciating Buddhist sculptures. The narrow paths led me to a hillside with some shallow caves believed to be burial sites of lords from the Ashikaga Shogunate.
Additionally, you can sit and have a quiet time with a cup of green tea.
It was already 3:30 p.m., so I left to continue to midtown. I wanted to explore some other temples around. Although, first, I wanted to be sure I had some suitable place to camp. My idea was to sleep at Genjiyama Park – a large hilly park in the middle of the city. From there, I would have quick access to many temples; I could wake up early the next day and explore most of them.
To get to the park, I had to cross Kamakura’s midtown (full of tourists) and reach a hilly neighborhood. After some minutes of wandering, I found the entrance to the park, only to realize that it was impossible to access it with my bike. There were some damaged stairs and a lot of mud, and it looked like a long climb. I was not able to safely carry everything to the top.
Luckily, I had another spot on the map: Osaki Park. Although, I had to ride to the opposite side of the city, and it was already getting dark. I quickly decided to take my chances and run for that other place in the southeast.
On my way through midtown (again), I stopped at a ‘Daiso’ (famous 100yen shop) to buy a knee brace (I had a little pain after all the climbing). I also got some food for the night. But I rapidly left because there were so many people around, and I started to feel too awkward.
I reached the southern part of the city at around 5:30p.m. From behind a fence, I could see the sea in the twilight. It looked stunning (but I couldn’t get a proper picture). I hurried up because I was still 2km from the destination.
I continued, crossing a tunnel; when I reached the other side, everything was already dark. I arrived at a very high-class area. (I discovered now that I had arrived in a different city: Zushi). I found myself surrounded by beautiful buildings, hotels, palm trees, luxury cars, and yachts – it was the ‘Zushi Marina’.
Besides the Marina, in contrast, I found rusty huts and small fishing boats. It was like a small fishers’ neighborhood with many houses jammed up on the hill. And Google Maps was leading me over there.
I was a bit lost. I wasn’t seeing any way to get to the spot from where I was. Everything was too dark, and no one was around to ask. I didn’t have another plan and didn’t see another park nearby. I was considering sleeping in a parking lot between old cars and trucks.
I inspected again and found a narrow path between two houses; it was so dark that I had ignored it the first time. It was a bit of a long way up the hill, but it had a ramp where I could push the bike while climbing the stairs beside it.
I ended up in another luxury neighborhood with huge houses. It did not look like Japan – more like what you can expect in the USA.
The streets were illuminated, and I found the entrance to Osaki Park right away. I was so relieved that I didn’t have any more inconveniences. I was already expecting the worst.
The park was completely dark, but it had a spectacular sight of the bay.
As with any park, it had a small building with restrooms, where I parked my bike and went for a walk.
I was searching for a place to put the tent with the help of a small light. Suddenly, at the far end of the area, I glimpsed a silhouette of a person. I was startled and faced my light in another direction. The other person left quickly, maybe thinking that I was some police officer.
Then, I stopped wandering and just set the tent outside the restrooms. I could turn on their lights and get relaxed at last.
I ate while taking some photos and videos of the bay. And then, I went to sleep just thinking about the next day. I had a great schedule: all day visiting shrines and temples, and in the afternoon, I would ride beside the sea to a camping ground on the beach, just 30km away. I only thought that everything would be better from now on.
Then, I received a message from my friend in Tokyo about an alert of a possible typhoon getting to Japan. Typhoon is just the way people in Asia call hurricanes… Fuck…
Don‘t hesitate to ask any questions in the comments below.
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