Kamakura

I went to Kamakura today, saw the huge kamakura buddha (Kotokuin - Daibutsu), did a a two hour hike to reach Zeniaraibenzaiten and then went and saw the Tsurugaoka Hachimangu shrine to the emperors. 50 minutes by local train from Shibuya, where I am staying.

 
In Kamakura, I came across a Soba restaurant, tucked away from the street and accessible via this narrow lane. It was quintessentially Japanese in my mind. The shrubbery, the lighting, the non-regular tile pattern, the little bamboo partition, old wooden furniture, it was classic. I went in, sat down, asked for the menu and they said on the menu that the noodles are wheat noodles and allergic people should not eat them, so I got up and left :(. I wish I could have eaten there.

For lunch, I had these cold flat rice noddles dipped in jaggery syrup (Kuzukiri) and hot green tea soup at (Maccha) at a restaurant called Minowa in Kamakura. Delicious.