Charles' Travel Blog

I spent my last day in Tokyo wandering around Shinjuku and enjoying the views from the 45th floor of the Municipal Government Building. After taking in the views, I relaxed in the adjacent park and enjoyed the Fall colors. In my walk I got to see the Godzilla head.

After my return from Mount Fuji, I went and explored both Shibuya and Shinjuku.  I was overwhelmed at the shear number of people.  At Shibuya, I took a photo of the statue of Hachikō.  Hachikō was a dog that kept showing up and waiting for his owner at the Shibuya station after his owner died.…

One thing I learnt on this day trip from Tokyo is to pay attention to weather forecasts and plan to overnight in the Five Fuji Lakes area as there is a lot to see and do. The start was a waterfall in town. I am always impressed with waterfalls. I then proceeded to another iconic…

After visiting the Great Buddha of Kamakura at the Kotoku-in Temple.  I walked over to the Hasadera Temple. The temple does offer great views of the bay. The temple has several buildings and a cave with a number of miniature Buddha statues.

I left Kenchoji and took the train to Kamakura to visit 2 more temples.  The first is Kotoku-in which houses one of the largest Buddha sculptures in Japan.

This is a large complex and I am not going to lie almost broke me when I hiked up the hillside.  But it was worth the hike for the views, including of Mount Fuji. Kenchō-ji (建長寺) is a Rinzai Zen temple in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, which ranks first among Kamakura’s so-called Five Great Zen…