Hasedera: Hydrangeas, and Crowds, and Caves, Oh My!

Three or four iris clumps near the gate leading to Kamakura's Hasedera Temple drew quite a crowd  Tuesday afternoon. You'll just have to imagine the irises since my camera was more interested in this enthusiastic photographer than flowers by that point in our garden marathon. Would he lean too far and fall into the pond? No. Almost, but not quite.

A thought crosses my mind.  Do Japanese tourists sneak pictures of me the way I sneak pictures of them?  Maybe I'll start combing my hair and slapping some mascara on my eyelashes before I leave the house.

Hasedera was by far the most crowded hydrangea mecca Weather Explorer and I visited this week.  We did not get in the long line waiting to climb up the hydrangea-bedecked hillside but took pictures of the people taking pictures of the people strolling through the flowers. 

Then, because this was Weather's first visit to Hasedera (and my jaw dropped when I heard that since it's still my favorite temple in Japan and I've been remiss in assuming she's been there), I dragged her through the cave of Buddhist saints.  Which was something of an Act of Contrition on my part, since that cave gives me the heebie-jeebies.  You have to bend at the waist to get from the first chamber to the second and the thought of earthquakes and being buried for eternity in that cave never fails to cross my mind when I make that bow.  Especially now when we are still feeling aftershocks almost every day.

Gorging in Kamakura: Hydrangea and Waffles

No longer able to use graduation rehearsal as an excuse for not hanging out with his family, Matt had an idea.  "Hey!  Let's all climb into that rental van with Mom behind the wheel and head on over to Kamakura.  We can check out her waffle restaurant and, gosh, I haven't visited the Daibutsu or Hasedera since the last time we had company."

"What's a Die-boot-sue?" James wondered after inhaling a half dozen waffles in assorted flavors.

"A great big statue of Buddha," Matt explained in his new 'we're all high school graduates now' tone of voice.

"Is this it?"  asked James.  "It doesn't seem all that big to me."

"No, that's a monk begging for alms.  We need to take a short ride to Hase on an electric train to see the Daibutsu."

"There's seven of us but only six Pasmo cards.  We'll have to buy one paper ticket.  Let's give it to the last person who reached Japan."

"Um, you guys go on ahead.  I'll catch up with you," advised the jet-lagged sister ten minutes later as she rummaged through the contents of her purse in the Hase station.  She had to find that paper ticket to exit the station.

She found it!

Everyone who visits us gets dragged to Hase to see the Great Buddha statue.  This is the first time we've seen anyone trying to line up a "Kissing Buddha" photograph.  Seeing an old thing through new eyes is refreshing.

On to Hasedera!  That's another routine stop on our Kamakura tour.

You've all seen a zillion photographs of my favorite temple, Hasedera, but this is the first time we've managed to visit Hasedera in June when the famous hydrangea are in bloom.  We were there about a week before the flowers peaked and that is no cause for complaint.  We marched straight up the hill (almost literally, come to think of it) and were soon surrounded by every shade of blue, pink, and white hydrangea imaginable.  A week later temple visitors stood in line for up to an hour to partake of this remarkable experience.

Imagine how this hillside looked a week later!

Emily at Hasedera

We have the same picture of her in a field of Texas bluebonnets taken 26 years ago.

There are a half dozen or so hydrangea bushes in our yard in Norfolk. I wonder how they are faring in my absence. Can I squeeze in a hundred more when we move back to Virginia? Will the Ancient Mariner be feeling up to making a mountain out of a molehill?

Emily and the fashion plates

Next:  Tokyo with Aunt Suzi and the Texans