Travelling solo

I discovered that July 7 is a special bamboo day in Kamakura, and there are many festivities surrounding it, as the stars align that night...and children decorate the bamboo with homemade trinkets

Going it alone can be wearying, but also elating. The kindness of strangers plays a big part, as does my own sense of navigation and instinct. Listening to my body and being somewhat prepared for a myriad amount of adventures and new sensations. I went to Kamakura early on Monday morning, just an hour out of Tokyo, a mountainous area chock full of shrines and my favourite temple so far, the bamboo temple Hokokuji. That was the first stop I made, to wander in the garden there, drink a green tea and sit and contemplate the tall beauty of these plants. During my tea drinking a woman and her daughter struck up conversation with me, which is the right thing to do during tea, an enhancer for discourse. She recommended the temple at Hase, and I take on all recommendations.
I left there and ate my little lunch which I had made the night before, fortified, it began to rain, I had a plastic poncho I'd brought, cleverly, and I set out on my unknown adventure. I found a small route behind the temple, and began to follow it, it came to a forest at the base of a mountain, and as soon as I got there a Western man in his wet pyjamas was exiting, he said hi and I entered. It was magical, just beautiful, tall trees, cypress pines I think, and nobody else around, I went up the slippery path and climbed for about 1/2 an hour, getting hotter and hotter in my poncho. I couldn't decide if it was better to take it off and let the rain drench me from the outside, or leave it on and be drenched by my own sweat. I got to the top, and there was only fog, I knew it was a lookout, but I could see nothing. I sat and had a cigarette and contemplated my choices, no map, no water, no other people, oh well, just continue to the unknown. The path was now clearly unused, as so many spider webs were strung across it, I passed a dead mole, which alarmed me, and just when the going seemed to be getting easier I slipped and fell. Fortunately not too badly, just straining my wrist and getting the most intense clay mud all over me.
I finally made it down, and made my way into town, found a lovely lunch place then a bus to my accommodation for the night which was quite a way out of the town center. It was a hostel with shared dorms, but in traditional style. I got there and had a shower, and a drink then enquired about sunset lookout points, they all gestured towards the balcony, but I wanted more forest, so I climbed the mountain behind. I adore the swathes of deep green forest on top of these mountains, dense and tropical with bamboo feathering out of it, like some soft swaying beauty. I just wanted to contemplate it. There was no lookout, but I found a quiet looking car park and sat there, sheltered by a single car. Naturally a woman came out as soon as I got there and said something then got into her car. I gestured to the bamboo, and said beautiful and she must have been touched by pity 'cos she got back out of her car with some biscuits for me. I couldn't believe it, a perfect stranger. All day I hadn't spoken to anyone except the shopkeepers and staff at the guest house, and here was this stranger giving me biscuits. I was very touched.
I had bought some sushi for dinner, but the staff were making octopus balls and were sharing them around. It was a really nice place, and nobody spoke English, but I felt fine. I had shared a small oyster with one of the other women staying there and in the morning she forced me to take a cucumber and a tomato in return. There is a great deal of even-stevens here, I often go to pay for somebody else, and they always insist on paying their own way.
In the morning I went to Hase temple and was not disappointed, the hydrangeas were in full bloom and I found the most amazing caves around the back with buddha statues carved into them, all wet with moisture, and glistening. There was one section where you could buy small statues and deposit them in the cave. Bentenkustu It was very mysterious and I was bent over double as the caves were so low, but it was some experience. I have never sweated so much in my life as in the sun that day. I even bought tickets to a pretty bad museum just so I could enjoy the aircon! Kamakura is on the coast so I faced my fears and went down to the beach, and stood in the water, contemplating the betrayal of the sea. This same ocean which gives us so much, which we in turn pollute and abuse, had returned with a mighty killing. But it is the same ocean as my beloved Pacific in Sydney!
I walked around buying souvenirs and eating snacks till it got dark then got back on a train to Tokyo.
I was thinking of a book I had read before leaving Australia that Lisa had lent me, 'Naomi' by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki, which concerned visits to Kamakura. I loved visiting the same place albeit 90 years later, and thinking about it.
When I got back my backpack was soaked through with sweat, and absolutely everything had to be washed, but I felt replete and exhausted.