Day 4: Where did my ice cream go?

Wow, what a day! I saw a whole new world today, only 55 minutes from Tokyo away.

Already our morning started well. we woke up and again the sky was blue, no cloud in the sky, the sun was shining into our light apartment... We are so lucky! :) I wonder if the weather is always like this in Tokyo.

We went to Kamakura. It is an hour away by train. There are two major sights, which were recommended in our guide:
1. Daibutsu: the most popular sight in Kamakura. A huge Buddha statue.
2. Hase-Dera: One of the most famous temples in this region.

The first sight was a disappointment. I had imagined the statue to be at least twice as big. But like this - it was not impressive at all. Just a slightly bigger statue, which was not even amazingly pretty.
The second sight we did not even bother to go into. Temples... we already saw so many, we are full of temples and shrines...

Daibutsu

 

Hase-dera

We had seen our two sights. But at the tourist information center in Kamakura station had recommended us to go to the Enoshima island. We were not so sure about this, because our travel guides and brochures never mentioned this island. But as the two sight sucked we went there.

Already on the train ride to the island, Miriam suddenly shouted through the train: "AAh! There's Fuji!" Haha, the Japanese on the train, who usually rarely talk or make noise on public transportation, jumped in their seats ^^

And WOW! It was amazing!

 

Sight from the train - the ocean. Not so far from Tokyo!

Christmas decoration at the train station - kawaii

 

Mount Fuji! A big cloud is hovering over its peak

Fugu

View from Enoshima Island

 

 View from Enoshima Island 

 

 View on Mount Fuji from the Observation Tower on Enoshima Island

 

View from the Overvation Tower on Enoshima Island 

Outside on the Observation Tower on Enoshima Island: a fresh breeze and a breathtaking sight

The wide ocean

 

Clear blue weather

 

The clouds seem to be drawn to Mount Fuji

  

On the way back to the train station - Looking back on Enoshima Island. Reminds me of Monkey Island somehow. Or Pirates of the Carribean.

Mount Fuji on the right at sunset

Mount Fuji on the right at sunset again

In the afternoon we went back. We came by a nice-looking café. As Miriam waited for a customized souvenir in a shop, Fabian and I decided to go into the café. We were cold and our feet were tired. A hot chocolate was what we needed. The café looks European, very nicely decorated, noble and cozy. When we sat down and got the menu, we were shocked when we saw the prices. 735 Yen for one hot chocolate? And nothing else was cheaper. We decided to go outside, but too late - the waitress had already set two glasses of water in front of us. Dang it. We were getting depressed at the thought that we could get two tall Starbucks instead of one small cup in this café. But when we tasted it - it was the best hot chocolate I drank in my life! It was made of real melted chocolate and milk. Wow. I guess it was worth it. I had the most expensive and the yummiest hot chocolate in Japan. ^^

 

A really pretty café

  

Beautiful porcelain - from England, Italy, ... 

When I grow up I want to have beautiful dishes!

  

If we had read the Kanji, we would have known the prices before sitting down

  

Extremely good hot chocolate

 

We can be happy after all

 

A dessert after dessert: Mount Fuji at sunset

Last but not least: my tragic little story. First let me say: Tokyo bursts of konbinis! You cannot go 200 metres without passing by a konbini. But in Kamakura - konbini desert! I needed to buy food to go, but nowhere any 7-Eleven, Lawson, Family Mart, Everyone to be seen! I even got angry! But then: shortly before arriving on the Enoshima Island I saw a Lawson. Finally. I was so happy, I also bought an ice cream. Yummy! :) I enjoyed my ice cream light-heartedly, enjoying the sunshine. Suddenly something black rapidly flew by my arm, and I felt a scratch on my hand. Ouch! And one second later I realized, my ice cream was gone! A hawk had attacked me from behind and had stolen my ice cream!

Haha, 100 metres later, still recovering from the shock, we came by this:

Too late.

Only a tiny scratch. The psychological wound was much deeper.

Oh, something else I forgot. I sat on the train from Tokyo to Kamakura. And then I saw Tuani:

And still one last thought: Miriam and I get depressed at the thought that we run around like tourists, shabby travel clothes, totally underdressed in Tokyo. Tokyo! Where fashion is at its boiling point! After our successful shopping trip in Shibuya we tried to imitate Japanese fashion. Boots, skinny jeans/tights and big sweater. But actually we still look so German. Haha, but we were still happy, that we did not look like travel crap today ^^ I hope we are on the right track, haha!