kamakura and the pigeon hunters

speechless. arguably the best day i've had thus far.

no school today, so slept at the TUJ house in Tokyo, and got up

super early with some friends to go to Kamakura, the ancient

capital during the Kamakura period, home to the first shogunate.

It is a coastal town about an hour and a half south of Tokyo surrounded by mountains and ocean, rolling hills and forests

and also home to Kotoku-in, the great Diabatsu, which is the world's second largest

statue of the Great Buddha. Also lots of temples and shrines, some dating from

1052. Insane. Early in the afternoon, our friend Taka, who owns a vintage clothing store in

Harajuku also decided to show up to Kamakura with his parents who were visiting from Kyushuu. After his mother insisted she took pictures with each of us separately, they handed over their rental car to Taka who proceeded to drive us all over Kamakura, seeing the best sights and

the most beautiful coastal landscape I have ever seen. We met and saw all sorts of cool people -- surfers, seaweed harvesters, candy makers, monks, children who have mastered the art of catching pigeons (i mean it), friendly oldies and of course some J babes. The beach that stretches for miles along the coast we were told is one of the most popular, if not the most popular in Japan, and during the summer is flooded with surfers and beach goers. After seeing the sights we drove south to Enoshima, a small island connected by bridge to Kamakura, and ate at a boss place called Takoshima (Octopus Island). Best (octopus) sushi i've ever had.

Good good good good day.