The Great Buddha of Kamakura

Time for another retrospective post from the Kodak era. This time we’re off to Kamakura, a historic coastal city on the Miura peninsula south of Tokyo. The city is renowned for Kamakura Daibutsu, otherwise known as The Great Buddha of Kamakura, at Kotoku-in temple.

Kamakura is one of Japan's ancient capitals, alongside Kyoto and Nara. It served as the seat of the Kamakura shogunate for almost 150 years from 1185 to 1333. This was also Japan’s first military government. As a result, the city is filled with many ancient and note-worthy temples and shrines.

Kamakura Daibutsu is a large bronze statue of a seated Buddha. It sits on a low-profile stone podium. Including the base, it measures 13.35 metres high and weighs about 93 tonnes. According to temple records, the statue dates from around 1252 and thus was cast at the height of the Kamakura shogunate.

It was created to replace an earlier giant wooden statue destroyed by a storm in 1248. The bronze replacement was originally enclosed in a temple hall. However, this building was swept away by a tsunami in 1498. Since then, the Great Buddha has stood in the open air.

I visited Kamakura and spent the day exploring its many hillside temples and shrines during a business trip to Japan. My company’s Tokyo office was a bit of a problem child at the time. As a result, I made many trips to Japan to support the team, usually staying at the Keio Plaza Hotel in Shinjuku.

My first business trip to Tokyo was a three-week secondment in August 2001. At the time, I was the Managing Director of our Australian office and was asked to spend time in the office training the executive team on improving their business management skills.

Following this trip, I returned regularly between 2002 and 2005 after becoming Regional Director for Asia Pacific. At the time, we'd lost our local managing director and had an expat in place acting in a temporary capacity. The situation's complexity meant that I stayed often for several weeks and thus regularly found myself with a weekend to fill.

To be brutally honest, I’m not sure exactly when I visited Kamakura. I never dated the photos I took. At a guess, it was sometime in 2002. It takes about 90 minutes to reach the city by train from Shinjuku. Most visitors disembark at Hase Station, then make their way uphill to the Kamakura Daibutsu tracing a popular tourist route past several Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines.

However, I decided to get off the train at Kita Kamakura station. From here I walked down the tree-lined streets of old Kamajura toward Hase Station. Along the way, I passed numerous immaculate shrines, including Engakuji, one of Japan's leading Zen temples, before finally finishing up at Great Buddha. Thanks to regular tourist stops, it took me several hours to complete the walk.  You can see a photo above of the wonderful Zen garden at Engakuji.  It was undergoing a little maintenance the day I visited.

Kenchoji, Kamakura’s oldest Zen temple, was also memorable. I was captivated by the defensive demon statues guarding the steps leading up to Hansōbō, the temple's large Shinto shrine. Known as Tengu, these mythical creatures are similar to goblins. Some of the statues had wings and a beak, a tengu genre known as Karasu-tengu (crow tengu) because of their avarian appearance.

The Great Buddha of Kamakura an impressive sight. As it comes into view beyond the ticket gate its size and scale is immediately clear. You instantly appreciate why it’s designated as a national treasure of Japan and is considered one of the nation’s most famous icons. Where else can you gaze upon a pair of one-metre wide eyes resting in eternal contemplation?

Farewell Rhonda

On Monday we farewelled Rhonda, Garry's mother, with a wonderful service. It was held in the Garden Chapel at Castlebrook Memorial Park Rouse Hill. It rained like crazy the night before.  However, as the service began the weather lifted and we enjoyed dry conditions.

Attendance exceeded everyone's expectations. The chapel seats 120 people. We'd anticipated that maybe 100 people would attend. In the end, almost 200 showed up (or at least that's our best guess as more than 173 people signed the condolence book - excluding immediate family members such as Garry and I, his brother and sister and their families, plus boyfriends and girlfriends and a few school friends).

Murray asked me to lead the service. To help me prepare my opening and closing remarks I leveraged notes from both my parent's funerals. I also took advantage of a rainy day in Samoa and spent the time drafting everything. I'm relieved the service was received well. It proved a superb blend of formality and informality with plenty of laughter and tears. Garry's brother, David, delivered a eulogy filled with anecdotes, capturing Rhonda's character perfectly. 

Murray was delighted by everything. I also received plenty of accolades for my role. The service was streamed online. As a result, I could replay a recording and experience it from the audience’s perspective. I must admit that the service flowed seamlessly and was a truly fitting tribute to an exceptional woman.

Afterwards, everyone retired to The Fiddler Hotel for an informal reception. Once again the numbers exceeded expectations. However, the hotel did a superb job of accommodating extra tables and additional catering at short notice.  The family then spent the rest of the afternoon reminiscing in the sunshine at a large table in the hotel's garden bar.

Savai’i (kind of)

Today’s day trip to Savai’i, Samoa’s largest island, didn’t go exactly as planned. Our guide, Chief Tai (yes he really is a local chief), picked us up from our resort at 6:40am. The early start was required in order to catch an 8:00am ferry across Apolima Strait to Savai’i. The weather forecast wasn’t ideal with passing showers forecast. However, our guide thought we’d be ok.

As we arrived at Mulifanua wharf the rain started falling. To our dismay, we discovered that the ferry company had rostered one of its landing craft vessels onto our scheduled sailing. This smaller vessel, the MV SSC Fasefulu, is an open deck ship with limited indoor seating. In other words, while crossing the 20km of ocean separating Upolu and Savai’i, we’d be exposed to the elements.

However, to our surprise, Chief Tai arranged for us to join the crew on the bridge. As a result, we stayed sheltered from the weather and enjoyed a bird’s eye view of cars and trucks being loaded on board. Below is an image of the ferry I later took during our return sailing. 

Once on Savai’i we made our way along the southern coast towards the island’s iconic Alofaaga Blowholes. However, as we ventured west the weather deteriorated rapidly into heavy showers. Our guide became increasingly agitated. He explained that the road is often blocked by localised flooding after heavy rain.

Apparently, heavy rain on the slopes of Mt Silisili, the island’s highest peak, can quickly overwhelm streams along the entire coast. At first, I thought he was exaggerating. That is until we encountered a fast-flowing dirty brown torrent surging knee-deep across the highway, less than a kilometre from the blowhole turnoff.

Needless to say, our guide promptly abandoned the tour and returned to Salelologa. As we drove he expressed fears that other streams were now flooding. Fortunately, his fears proved unfounded and we made it safely back to the ferry wharf. However, we passed over several bridges with wild waters raging below so his distress wasn’t entirely misplaced. 

As we approached Salelologa we stopped to admire Mu Pagoa Waterfall in full flood. The fall is an impressive sight. It flows over an arcing five-metre ledge of black volcanic rock directly into the pounding Pacific ocean. 

Access to the waterfall is across private land (we literally walked through a grassy paddock to get there). As a result, it’s not signposted from the road. We later learnt that thanks to this hidden access very few tourists actually see the falls. Even fewer witness it in full flood.

Our guide decided to return on an earlier sailing as poor weather often causes cancellations. As a result, we found ourselves disembarking in Upolu, hours ahead of schedule. Ironically, the weather on Upolu was only partially overcast, dry and warm. 

Our guide offered to refund the tour. While we appreciated the gesture, we declined his offer. Instead, to compensate us, he shouted lunch at a local resort and took us on a leisurely drive along the southwest coast. The church shown above, located in Falelatai, was one highlight along the way. Sadly my photos didn’t turn out so I’ve ripped this image from Google Street View.

Apia road trip

We hired a car for our first five days in Samoa. It got us from the airport across the island to our resort, let us stock up at the local supermarket and made it easy to schedule a couple of day trips. Today we finished our final hire day by touring Apia’s popular sights.

Our road trip started with a slightly hair-raising ride via the Cross Island Road. One section consisted predominantly of potholes with the occasional patch of solid asphalt. Along the way, we stopped to admire the spectacular Papapapaitai Falls, the Baha’i House of Worship and the Robert Louis Stevenson Museum. 

The falls were spectacular. Several fragmented ribbons of white water drop more than 100 metres into a jungle-clad gully. Our arrival at the lookout was initially hampered by a swirling mist. It slowly lifted as we watched and waited revealing the falls in all their verdant glory.

We had the entire Baha’i temple to ourselves during our visit. The local custodian came across from the nearby visitors centre to give us a brief overview of the Baha’i faith and the temple’s key features before leaving us to explore it alone. The custodian asked if I'd visited a Baha'i House of Worship before. When I mentioned the Lotus temple in New Delhi, she told us she'd been lucky enough to attend its opening in 1986.

The Robert Louis Stevenson Museum was equally quiet. The tour staff were on their lunch break when we arrived. As a result, we were invited to take a self-guided tour through this magnificent colonial homestead. Once again we had the entire building to ourselves and could explore it at our own pace.  The house and grounds were impressive.  However, I couldn't help feeling a little uncomfortable with the colonial undertones of exploitation that it clearly represents.

From the museum, we went into town for a swim at the rather ramshackle Palolo Deep Marine Reserve (lots of sharp coral shards underfoot!) followed by a leisurely lunch by the water's edge overlooking the exclusive Taumeasina Island Resort. After lunch, we had just enough time for a brief driving tour downtown. 

Our route included a brief stop at Samoa’s new National Parliament (currently under renovation and built in the style of a traditional tribal hut), the ornate Immaculate Conception Cathedral, and a drive-by of the infamous Downtown Clock Tower. Guidebooks claim the clock displays random time on one or more faces for no apparent reason other than dodgy maintenance.

Fono, the Parliament of Samoa, is not only a noteworthy sight with its contemporary-meets-traditional fale architecture but is also where some unique legislation has been made. For example, Samoa “skipped a day” when the country changed time zones in 2011. Previously, as happened in the Cook Islands, visitors crossed the dateline upon arriving in Samoa. Neighbouring America Samao, less than 80 km southeast of Upolo, still observes this time zone.

After returning our rental car to Blue Pacific Rentals, office staff arranged for a local taxi to take us back to the resort. The journey was an eye-opening lesson about living on “island time”. We wound down the windows, soaked in the sunshine, and watched the world glide by as our cab wound its way across the island at a speed rarely exceeding 25kph. A trip that typically takes 40 minutes ultimately took us more than an hour.

Upolu road trip

We’ve spent the first three days in Samoa relaxing in the sun. We’ve done little more than lie under the shade of coconut trees, down cold beers and swim in the sea. It’s been bliss.

Today while Garry relaxed some more I hit the road in our rental car. I spent the afternoon exploring scenic highlights along the south coast of Upolu. By the time I was done I’d covered more 115kms, starting from our resort and finishing at Samoa’s renowned To-Sua Ocean Trench, before retracing my steps.

The trench is a coastal sinkhole filled with salt water flowing from the sea via an underground cavern. Visitors access the water 30 metres below by descending a steep wooden ladder set against the rock face. I climbed down and dived in for a refreshing swim, along with dozens of others. I was surprised to find the water was constantly in motion as the ocean’s tidal currents rose and fell.

Along the way, I also took time out to visit a couple of the island’s waterfalls. My first fall for the day was Togitogiga Waterfall. It often stops flowing during the dry season (April to October). However, I was in luck. The cascade was active with several strong strands flowing.

I then finished the day with a brief stop at the Sopo’aga Falls. It's one of Samoa’s most beautiful falls, dropping 32 metres into a picturesque gully. The falls are viewed from a platform along the edge of a jungle-clad cliff. Its elevated viewpoint delivers a truly majestic photo opportunity.

Like most scenic spots in Samoa, the viewing platform stood on private land. A local family maintains the site on behalf of the local community. They've gone all out, as the grounds were carefully landscaped with picnic tables and paved pathways. As I drove in, a woman stepped out of a nearby homestead to greet me and collect a traditional cash entry fee. On this occasion, it was WST10.00 (about AUD5.30). Likewise, at To-Sua Ocean Trench, I paid a small entry fee.

Other highlights from today’s road trip include a chain of colourful flags and potted plants lining the roadside in every village. We later learned they’ve been installed for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) scheduled in Apia from 21-26 October. It’s the first CHOGM to be held in a Pacific Small Island Developing State so the locals are going all out to impress their elite VIP visitors.

I also stopped to catch some memorable images of the island’s coconut-shaded paddocks, colourful public buses, and impressive churches, including the stunning blue and white Agelo Tausi Catholic Church. Many of the buses I passed were filled with uniformed school kids on their way home from class. Apparently, almost every village here has its own primary school.

Tomorrow we'll explore the sights around Apia, Samoa's capital, before taking a day trip to the neighbouring island of Savai’i.