36 hours prior to a previously cancelled trip I receive a phone call: "Hi! We changed our minds and we'll be there to see you soon!" Oh great! I have a day and a half to not only cancel my weekend plans, but also book hotel for 9 nights. I managed to find 5 nights of it right off the bat. The biggest problem was finding Saturday nights and there were two of them during the stay. The flight was delayed 3.5 hours which allowed me to go check them into the hotel and check the room out. Once I spent the 3 hour train/bus ride getting to the airport, I waited a scant 15 minutes before they appeared through the gate. Another 3 hours of trains and walking got us to the hotel around 2330! I dropped them off and made it home in time to crash.
Saturday morning came bright and beautiful. We moved their luggage to my room, grabbed some water and lunches, and went to the train station to meet my favorite hiking guide. We took a train to a train to a train to a bus to another bus to the trail head to Myojingtake. The hike began in a lovely cedar forest and climbed steadily, steadily out through ankle deep mud to a view of Hakone and Fuji-San! Part way up we came across a group of French hikers and a group of Japanese teenagers. Immediately it became a race to the top, though I was the only one competing. I would like everyone to know: We won that race! Yes, I am that silly. Emily was in full performance mode, so we had a great time playing off each other with movie quotes and impressions, singing songs, and playing "remember when...". We had lunch at the top and ended the hike with another seriously long bus ride to a train to a train to a train. Finally, we finished the day with dinner at my favorite Indian restaurant and piled into my tiny shoebox hotel room. Let me tell you, 3 people in that room was absurd!
Sunday we took a trip out to Kamakura to see the bronze Buddha and Enoshima Island. I've posted a million pics of Buddha, so I will skip to Enoshima. I've been dying to get out to this little island for months! Its a total tourist place with street performers, gardens, a temple, etc. To reach the island we had to traverse a fairly long bridge surrounded by restless waves. Since the wind was still blowing like crazy, the waves were crashing against the walls of the bridge, occasionally spraying little droplets of water at us. Once we arrived, we immediately met Davinci, who is a street performer. Davinci wore a multi-hued bodysuit complete with awkwardly different booty shorts and topped by shiny, silver chaps. His black thong was clearly visible and the gold cape blew in the wind like a banner. He was enormously entertaining to Emily and I. We took a photo with him, though he exchanged the cape for a hot pink boa. Past the performance area, we walked through a market full of strange (to us) foods and all sorts of trinkets. Beyond the market stairs begin to lead through gates to the temple at the top of the hill. We climbed up and up and up and came upon different views and interesting objects at each level.
At the top, there were gardens, a cave shrine with a dragon, and more food. I bought Dad and I each a skewer of grilled baby octopuses. Emily took a tiny bite and couldn't stand it, but at least she tried. We found a little nature trail that leads to an entire fence covered in padlocks. They ranged in size, color, shape, and amount of rust, but all had initials on them. Lovers professing their undying love. When a section of fence is filled, it is moved to another area near the trail. There are thousands of these locks. Next we walked around to the beach side of the island. The waves were crashing on the rocks while the wind whipped at our hair and clothes. It was incredibly beautiful with the sun beginning to set over the water and each wave glittering as if it were not full of salt water, but gemstones. We made it back to shore and the beach while the sun was still up and returned to Yokosuka with just enough time to grab everything and go to Tokyo for the next hotel.
