8 June 2009

Don had an optional trip planned to Kamakura today, so I was definitely interested in taking part. Since Kamakura is past Yokohama however, it was going to get a longer and more complicated train ride to get there. We met at Shibuya Station at 11:20am in order to catch the 11:30am Tokyu Toyoko Line to Yokohama. From Yokohama, we took a JR Line to Kamakura, where we then transferred to the Kamakura local line to ultimately arrive at the Hase stop. Kamakura had the small town feel with the tourism influence. We grabbed a quick lunch for half an hour, so Norio, Derrick, and I got croquette on a stick from the local butcher. It was really good, especially for only 170 yen! For dessert, Derrick and I got milk-flavored soft serve ice cream for 300 yen since it was still hot and humid outside. We met back up with Don, and he led us to the Kamakura Daibutsu. The Daibutsu is the second largest Buddha in Japan, only second to the one we had seen earlier at Todaiji Temple in Nara. The Daibutsu was constructed of bronze, and we were even able to go inside of it for the meager 20 yen charge. It was interesting to see how the Buddha was actually constructed since that was one aspect that we hadn’t seen before. That was about it for the large Buddha viewing.
Don had some other sites planned out to visit, but they didn’t sound like anything special. I had already tentatively planned out the rest of my day in Tokyo, since we leave really soon, so I left the group on my own to head back to Tokyo. I was a bit nervous that I wouldn’t be able to remember my way back, but somehow, I was able to do it with no problem. What a relief! Once back in Tokyo, I headed straight to Tokyo Midtown in Roppongi to visit the 21/21 Design Sight Museum by Tadao Ando. There was an exhibit called Bones going on, and I had heard from some of my classmates that it was amazing. It cost 1,000 yen to get in, and the museum really was worth it. There were some really cool hands-on exhibits, along with some neat x-rays of objects and living organisms.
After visiting the Bones exhibit, it was still only about 5:30pm. It was supposed to rain today, but the sky was still dry, so I decided to embark on one more adventure for the evening. I jumped on the subway, transferred two different times, and got off at Gokokuji. Saint Mary’s Cathedral, which was a short 10 minute walk from Gokokuji Station, and it was designed by Kengo Tange. It was a really worthwhile trip, and even though I wasn’t able to see the inside since it was closed, the exterior form was still completely amazing. It didn’t rain the entire time I was out either, so I’m glad the day ended well. I took three different subway lines to get back to the NOMYC, and I grabbed a quick dinner at Matsuya with Seth before retiring for the night. The remainder of the evening I tried to catch-up on a few assignments for Arch 420, Skyped with the parentals, and caught up on my blogs and photos. Tomorrow we have our last class meeting at 9:30am, so the program will really feel like it’s coming to an end quickly.