Tenen Hiking Trail

We had planned a trip to the base of Fuji, but things didn't work out during out trip.  It turned out to be a considerable distance away and navigating our way there would have proved quite challenging.  The mountain is closed during the summer because it is covered in snow.  We still wanted to see Japan's legendary mountain so we looked into some hikes closer by.  We settled on hiking the Tenen Trail just north of Kamakura.  It two short train rides away and provided breathtaking views of the Kanagawa Prefecture including Yokohoma, Tokyo and what we really wanted to see, Fuji.

Fuji was every bit as breathtaking as we imagined.  Even from over 50 miles away it dominated the skyline.  Mount Fujisan, as it is called there, is over 3700 meters high (>12,000 feet); the surrounding hills are maybe a third of that.  We first glimpsed Fuji from the top of the Kenchoji Temple Trail.  As we surveyed the skyline we saw only clouds, but Fuji's snow-capped top stuck out above these clouds.  Anything I think to type seems to minimize how magnificent it appeared.

As mentioned, we walked through a Kenchoji Temple to reach the Tenen Trail.  At the other end of the trail was the Zuisenji Temple.  The hike between temples was around 5 miles, but we had to hike a 1/2 mile from the Kita-Kamakura train station to Kenchoji and then another 1.5 miles from Zuisenji to the Kamakura train station.  I would absolutely do it again and thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience.

Along the trail were many yagura, or Samuri graves.  Many have been looted over 100 years ago, but some preserved.  Often times families have gone back and reclaimed or taken over the empty tombs to use.  Here are some pictures from both temples and the trail.

Entrance hall at Kenchoji.

Painting on the main hall ceiling at Kenchoji.

Statues in main hall at Kenchoji.

Gold plated gate at Kenchoji.

Back side of gate.

Guardian on top of Kenchoji back trail overlooking the temple grounds.

Our first view of Fuji.

Panorama of Fuji (click to enlarge).

Trail head sign.

Fuji from the second lookout point.

Our brother-in-law, Mike, with Fuji in the background.
This is at a second lookout point above Kenchoji.

Us with Fuji in the background.

Checking out one of the shrines.

This sign let us know that our remaining hike would be more
down than up (this made Elise very happy).

Hidden Yagura Mike and I found off of the trail.

Some of the things people leave at the shrines.

A view from the trail down into the valley of Zuisenji Temple.

Close up from in Zuisenji temple.

The two of us in front of a Zuisenji shrine.

Map Project

We are taking a break from posting about our trip to Japan to post about a project we just finished. We have always wanted some sort of map to hang on the wall and got this idea from pinterest. We bought some canvas at Joann's, bought a map on line, and cut the map into three pieces to wrap around the canvas. We then modpodged over the map to give it a shine and put map pins in all the places we have been to or lived (both individually and as a couple).The white pins are where Alex has been, the black pins are where I have been, and the red is where we have been together. Below are pictures of some of the steps, along with the finished project. All pictures were taken with our Nikon J1.

All of our materials: canvas, map, modpodge,
paintbrushes, exacto knife, tarp

Laying out the canvas's and measuring the map

All ready to put the map on the canvas

Letting it dry

The map pins all in place

Up on the wall!

Komachi Street

In between our travels around Japan and seeing the sights we took some time to visit Komachi Street in Kamakura.  This is an old street that is line with shops.  It remains closed to cars and is packed with people up and down in between the shops.  We got many different souvenirs from this town.  Here are some pictures of our trip to shop.

McDonald's is everywhere! Although, like most of Japan - No credit cards.

31 Flavors is also popular there.

A view down the street.

My new friend.

About to enjoy our Japanese crepes.

The Emperor's New Year's Greeting

On January 2nd of every year the Imperial Palace's inner grounds are opened to the public (they are only opened to the public one other time during the year-the Emperor's birthday) and the Emperor gives a new year's greeting to the crowd of thousands. The Emperor made five appearances throughout the day, we went to the third appearance. Basically what happens is you stand in lines for about an hour to an hour and a half and are herded into the inner courtyard. At scheduled times throughout the day the Emperor appears and the crowd goes INSANE, the Emperor gives a short two minute speech, the crowd goes INSANE, and then everyone is herded through lines out of the palace grounds. It was a crazy day, with a lot of people, but definitely worth it just to see the Imperial Palace grounds and catch a glimpse of the Emperor. Below are some pictures from our day at the Imperial Palace. That day Alex took pictures with our D60 and I took pictures with our J1, pictures from both are shown here.

When we arrived in Tokyo we saw a handful of these announcing
that Tokyo is a candidate city for the 2020 Olympics. 

This is the Tokyo train station. Well actually just the first floor
is the Tokyo train station, the rest is a hotel. 

One of the many buildings in Toyko. 

Waiting in line to see the Emperor. At the beginning of the line
 they handed out these Japanese flags to everyone. 

The Grimstead's waiting in line. Lexie loved waving her flag. 

Everyone was taking pictures of this guy on the horse, so I decided to snap
one of Alex with him in the background in case he was famous, but i'm pretty sure
 he was just a police officer type person in a special uniform. 

Walking along the grounds. 

The entry to the inner grounds. 

The Imperial Palace, or part of it anyways. 

Another view of the palace. 

Erika and Mike waiting to see the Emperor. 

Alex and I waiting to see the Emperor. 

The Emperor! (He is the cute little old man
- you can click to make the image bigger)

I looked up a translation of what the Emperor's New Year's Greeting was, at the time we had no idea what was going on. Here is what I found: 

Last year, it pained me greatly to see that many lives were lost to natural disasters, the Great East Japan Earthquake in the spring and torrential rains in many places in the summer and in the autumn. My heart also goes out to the people who regrettably can no longer live in the places they used to live because of the radioactive contamination caused by the nuclear plant accident. Last year was a truly distressing year. However, it has been heartening to note that, even under such conditions, the people were helping each other and many people were working hard to support the victims.

This year, our country has to make various plans towards reconstruction and decide on guidelines for the future. At the same time, it is expected to be a year in which our country has to tackle many difficult challenges, including the disposal of the debris from the disaster. It is my sincere hope that people will bring together their wisdom and that those involved in the various tasks can work under safe conditions. 

Our country is now going through difficult times because of the earthquake and other factors, but I hope that the people's hearts will always be with the afflicted, and that everyone will persevere and work together to build a brighter tomorrow.

It is my hope that the new year will be a good, peaceful year for the people of Japan and the people of the world.

Everyone going crazy waving their flags after the Emperor's speech.
 

Lexie liked what the Emperor had to say
so she waved her flag a lot ; )

Love her!

As we were walking out of the grounds. I love the contrast of the old
Japanese style with the modern Tokyo skyline. 

Our traditional Japanese meal after visiting the Emperor.
We were somehow able to convey that Alex couldn't eat rice,
but he had to suffer through all the soy (he is allergic to both). 

Erika and Mike enjoying the food. 

Alex suffering through eating and Elise enjoying the food. 

We enjoyed our trip to see the Imperial Palace and the Emperor. It was truly a once in a lifetime experience.