Hillary Visits - Day 4

Since Monday was a holiday in Japan (Thanksgiving Labor Day- they stole it from us), Hillary got to stay for a long weekend! Sunday was crummy weather, but Monday was a beautiful day.

We headed down to Kamakura, a local favorite destination. I like it though because there is so much to do, it is always a different trip for me! First we headed to the big Buddha because he's fun. Since it was a hoiday, there were lots of people there so we didn't wait in line to go inside. He's always fun to see though!

Next we walked back down the street to Hasedera. The temple in the city. I really like this temple because it has so many parts to it. Temples, libraries, hiking paths, shrines, lots to see! We walked through the temple and saw the sights. It was wonderful to catch up with Hillary about all of our old mutual friends and see where everyone is in the world now. I also heard many stories about Hillary's time in Ukraine. It's amazing how catching up with an old friend can lift your spirits!


After Hase, we look the train back to Enoshima to check out Enoshima Island.  We wanted to see the Iwaya caves on the island, but the caves are on the far side of the island. We were afraid we wouldn't have enough time to see them by walking so instead we took a boat that took us to the opposite side of the island - perfect! The boat was a little sketchy, but for 400 yen, who cares! The boat dropped us off right on the rocks of the island. There were hundreds of kids and their families collecting sea creatures in the tide pools. One girl even had a tiny octopus in a cage. I wonder if she was going to keep it as a pet or eat it? Who knows?! It really was a gorgeous day to be playing at the seashore!

We finally made it to the caves which were awesome. Partially by the fact that they were caves, but also because the Japanese do funny things like this-

Why wouldn't you decorate the end of a cave for Christmas? Of course! We also enjoyed the fact that you got a tiny candle to light your way! At one point, Hillary and I were bent over in half because the ceiling was so low, but the Japanese man in front of me didn't even have to move it head! I think Hil has the picture on her camera. :)

We kept planning on stopping somewhere to eat, but we were just too busy walking around and we didn't want to run out of time for Hillary to catch her train back home around 5 pm. When we decided to walk back towards to train station, we came across this food vendor that seemed interesting. He had a line around the corner, so we figured it must be good. Here is how you make this octopus snack.

Step 1. Dip small octopus in flour like batter.
Step 2. Place multiple octopus on flat panini like press.

Step 3. Close grill and crank down the handle to smash the octopus til barely recognizable.
Step 4. Open grill, rotate cracker, trim edges with scissors. Enjoy!

The cracker was about a millimeter or 2 thick and tasted like a fishy cracker. Sounds gross, but when it was hot and freshly made- it was pretty good!

We walked with our octopus crackers back to the train station and headed home. A quick stop at the Taco Bell on base and we had to take Hillary to the train station. I can't wait for you to come back again, Hil!