Soma-san, backpacker in Japan - 4. Part: Adventure in Kamakura
In
the previous chapter we learned how Soma felt at the arriving after so many
years of dreaming about Japan. He told us how it felt watching Tokyo for the
first time, how was his first hitchhiking experience, and first night in the
tent. In this chapter you will read about his adventures in Kamakura.
Kakehashi: Arriving to Kamakura what kind of experiences did you have?
Soma: We left the last chapter when I
was rambling in Yokohama. Before telling the whole story I would like to start
from my departure from the Sankeien park towards Kamakura. That day I walked
about 40 km in the city, and I had to find a ramp for highway walking out of
city. Since the highway was built on a bridge above the city roads, I couldn’t
find any ramps at all. It was because of this, I decided to catch a train to my
destination which cost 400 Yens. I arrived at 8 o’clock after the sunset. I
still had food, which I had bought in Yokohama, water also, I just needed to
find „accomodation”. I came out of the station, and I could immediately sense
the salty and fresh air of the ocean. There were no questions, I walked down to
the beach, took off my shoes, it was such a great feeling walking again on
barefoot. I sat on a barrier, and had dinner with the romantic company of
myself. In one of the end of the coast, in a hidden place, I put up my tent. It
was an idyllic moment in that clear weather, going to sleep by listening the
murmurs of the ocean’s waves. Obviously the sand below me was rock hard, so it
didn’t make me remember to one of those nights with my comfortable memory foam
bed.
My knees weren’t impressed by the
idea. But I had other excitements as well. At night as I was trying to fall
asleep, listening to the more and more noisy waves I realized that I didn’t
take something into consideration. The tide. I looked through the mosquito-net
and I saw that the water was only 5 meters away from me. Honestly I didn’t
really care because it was so surrealistic laying on the coast of the ocean
9000 kms away from home, so I thought getting soaking wet isn’t such a big
deal. Fortunately it didn’t happen that way. The next morning I started with an
"amen" after realizing my luck.
Kakehashi: How was the next day after waking up?
Soma: In the morning I started
packing my things. I also realized that apart from beeing rock hard the sand
has another big disadvantage, it gets into everywhere. All of my packages got
full of sand inside-outside, so the packing procedure was more difficult and
took me more time than it was previously planned.
Baywatch in Kamakura
I went for breakfast, and I
checked in my exercise book what I had planned to see that day. I made an
order, wrote an itinerary, and I set off to Kamakura. Despite, that it’s a
really small city, it has many things to offer.
I was walking along in a place
like a market when one off the salesmen asked me „What’s up? Don’t you wanna
stay for tonight? There's a firework-festival in the city.”
It's important to note here, that
the fireworks for them is a social program, they see and enjoy it in an
entirely different way. They clap enthusiastically as if they
have never seen anything like that before. It’s not a coincidence, that the
hanabi (fireworks) and the hanami (blossom viewing) words are similar, because
we know that sakura hanami (cherry blossom viewing) is one of the most favourite
activities in Japan.
I said thanks for the orientation, and
continued my journey. Yokohama was too big to walk around entirely. On the
other hand in Kamakura I did so. If I had more time I would have visited all of
the gardens, temples and sanctuaries.
Nikko was different to
Kamakura not just because of the their coasts of ocean, but in their atmosphere
also. It was warmer, the cicalas were louder, and there were more tourist in a
smaller territory. These were two different places. Obviously, in Nikko
it was rainy all the time which made the never-endig trees and enormous silence
even more magical. In Kamakura the sun was shining, you could almost feel the
salty water in the air, it gave me a typical summer feeling. Both of the cities
have their own charm.
I had to make a photo of this
Hachimangu
Kakehashi: Did you manage to make friends?
Soma: After the last spot (Hasedera-from where there was an amazing view to the city and the bay) I went back to the coastal walkway. For some reason I felt that I should not continue my journey to Kioto that day. But it was false assumption for two reasons which I found out two day later. As I was very tired I didn’t remember well about the actual date and the next city. After the long day and sightseeing, I decided not to go on that evening, rather the next morning.
As I was sitting and relaxing on
the pier, a japanese around my age came there and started talking to me and
asked if I was there at the Daibutsu (big Buddha sculpture) a couple of hours
before, because he thought he saw me. I said I was, and we started chatting. We
found out that he was going around Japan with a bycicle, and just like me doing
wild-camping. We need to understand this literally, because his journey from
Hokkaido to Okinawa was planned for two years, and he checked everything while
doing so. He also showed me his car with four huge luggages, one more at the
seat, and a backpack on his back. He showed me pictures as well. He explained
to me that he departed from Kurashiki, which was one of my station from three
week later. I mentioned him, that I’m not a big deal compared to him, because
my journey takes only two months, not 2 years, like his.
He asked my for how long I was staying
in Kamakura. I answered until the next day. He asked me to wait there for a
while, look after his luggages, he’s coming back soon. 10 minutes later the guy
returned with two packs from Lawson (konbini). „I brought this for us
Soma-san.”
Yakitoris (grilled chicken), onigiris (rice ball), pickled and prewrapped meat, sweets, some bottle of soft drinks and one bottle of Daiginjo (rice wine). At first sight i thaught it could have cost approximately 10.000 Yen (100$). I was absolutely stunned. One day after Arai-san, I met another amazingly generous person.
Daibutsu and me
Kakehashi: What kind of experience
was watching japanese fireworks?
Soma: In the evening more and more
people were starting to appear on the streets, the beach and the walkway was
totally full. There weren’t any more empty spaces. And then the fireworks
started, which was so long and so magnificent, as our new years eve and
national day fireworks combined, although it was a little town and was not a
special festival.
Everybody was waiting for the
start in great silence. And then as it started the atmosphere was rising.
Little children and elder people enjoyed it together. The feeling caught me
too, and I realized that I was clapping with the japanese people, and said the
same way „oooo” after a spectacular explosion. For a moment I was thinking that
I’m not even japanese, but I am behaving like one of them. That was very
surrealistic.
Fireworks
Daiginjo sake 7 dl- 15 %-os
When the fireworks were over
people were leaving the scene. We drank the remaining sake, and the guy asked
me, where I was sleeping at night, where I set up my tent? I told him that I
didn’t know that at the moment, but I showed him that I had spent the previous
night at the other side of the bay. He said he wouldn’t go the beach because of
the sand, he rather recommended some other spot. And then he took out his phone
and showed me an app which offers good possibilities for campers. For example
you could see that on the map if there were any tap water, shops, shower or
other useful things there. We saw a good place near us, so we decided to go
there.
Kakehashi: What happaned the next
day?
Soma: I woke up at 7 o ’clock but
to be honest I could have slept more. Some people came to collect the garbage
and they were shouting „ohayo gozaimasu”. Meaning wake up… My fellow traveller
said that he had been awake since 5 o’clock he had gone to the shop and made
breakfast for me. „What?” „Breakfast” -he answered. He had a portable
„kitchen”, and prepared Miso soup. He pointed there with his finger, and said
he left some for me too. So he will rewarm it for me. I thought I was still
drunk, and I didn’t understand.
I ate the warm soup and I have to
admit that it was amazing. After the breakfast I mentioned him that I still had
the food from yesterday, which we hadn’t opened yet. „Just take it, all yours”.
This guy is not normal- I was thinking that he gives me food of many thousands
of yens after already feeding me?! I swear I had remorse that I couldn’t give
him anything more than my Palinka and my modest company.
As we didn’t have the same
destination our journey came to the end, we shared our email adresses with each
other, then we said farewell. Later I checked the map how I’m going to get to
Kyoto, which was 450 kms away, and it was the next stop of my journey. I saw
that the highway was about 20 km away which leads me to the ancient city. I was
thinking, why not walk there…
How my trip continued, how I
realized that I was travelling towards a wrong city, and that I wasn’t in delay
but according to my original plan? These questions will be answered in the next
episode… Keep following me!