Our 143rd entry in this blog is our trip to Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine in Kamakura, Japan. This is Ate Rei and Sai’s first time to visit this historical place. I also could not remember the last time I went here. Spring time is the perfect season to visit this place as there are lots of Sakura Trees surrounding the area.

Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine can be reached from Kamakura Station either through the busy Komachi-dori shopping street, or along the Dankazura, a pedestrian path in the center of Wakamiya Oji Street that is lined with several hundred cherry trees. Via either route, the walk from Kamakura Station to the shrine takes about 10-15 minutes. -https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3102.html

Wakamiyaoji Street is a road leading to a shrine. It was built by Minamoto no Yoritomo, to pray for a safe childbirth. In the spring its cherry blossoms come in to full bloom, creating a road of blossoms.

Flanking the main approach to the shrine are two ponds. One pond represents the Minamoto Clan and has three islands, while the other represents the Taira Clan, the Minamoto’s arch rivals, and has four islands, as the number four can be pronounced the same as “death” in Japanese. A garden, known for its peonies, surrounds the Minamoto Pond halfway.

Tsurugaoka Hachimangu is Kamakura’s most important shrine. It was founded by Minamoto Yoriyoshi in 1063, and enlarged and moved to its current site in 1180 by Minamoto Yoritomo, the founder and first shogun of the Kamakura government.

The shrine is dedicated to Hachiman, the patron god of the Minamoto family and of the samurai in general. The deified spirits of the ancient Emperor Ojin who has been identified with Hachiman, Hime-gami and Empress Jingu are enshrined at Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine.

Ate Rei and Sai are resting under the pretty Sakura Trees while busy eating their cotton candies. It was quiet a warm day so they are not enjoying this trip, at all! haha! They just wanted to sit down and eat sweets.

After eating their sweets, they now have energy to walk on some parts of the shrine. We had fun times looking at huge Koi fishes. The two lotus ponds on the approach to the shrine are the Genji Pond, which has three islands and the Heike Pond, which has four islands.

And finally Ate Rei got her wish to try the Sakura Ice Cream. We also had our own ice cream while Sai always, I mean, only eats Vanilla flavored ice cream. And that is our quick trip to this very important Kamakura Shrine. And we are off to our next destination, the Big Buddha 🙂