Kamakura - Giant Buddha and Hasedera

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About a month ago we were lucky enough to have a short trip back to Japan. It had been almost 2 years since we moved back to Melbourne from Okinawa, and as always, I never stop missing Japan.

This trip, we kept short, only 8 days so just centered ourselves in Tokyo and hung around there. It was such a great decision because we found ourselves the perfect Airbnb in Shibuya and although we walked a ton everyday, we managed to get really comfortable long sleeps in at night so the holiday was incredibly relaxing. I swear i was getting 10 hours a night, which basically hasn't happened in about 20 years!

Once thing I did notice, however, when we were looking for a place to stay, is that since the Japanese government regulated Airbnb and required people to get a licence before they can let an apartment, the number and variety of places is much less, as well as being more expensive! We ended up finding a place on Homeaway which was cheaper than anything we saw on Airbnb, but it felt like slim pickings compared to a few years ago. This is the place we stayed at, which I would definitely recommend for the bed alone. It was probably the most comfortable bed i've ever slept in!

Anyway, on to our adventures. Seeing as both H and G had never been there before, we decided to head to Kamakura for a day trip. We splurged and got Green Car tickets and took the short (1 hour) trip from Shibuya to Kamakura. Although i've been to Kamakura numerous times, I had never been to see the giant Buddha, so we headed there first. After checking that out, we wanderd to Hasedera, which has to be one of my favourite temples (aren't they all). It had heaps to see, lots of gorgeous blossoms out, and to top it off, there was a buddhist vegan restaurant at the top!