Today, Tuesday Oct 4th, was spent getting more acclimated to the weather here and going out and about learning about Japan’s awesome and amazing public transportation system. I can see why it’s considered the best system in the world.

I picked up one of the many pre-paid debit-style train cards available, a SUICA, for use for the rest of my stay here. You load money onto it, and then use it at the entrance/exits of the stations and it subtracts the amounts automatically.

After getting the SUICA, Al and I rode the train up to Yokohama Station from Zushi Station on JR (Japan Rail) and looked around for just a quick bit because not much in Japan really opens before 10AM. We then headed back on the separate Keikyuu line from Yokohama Station to Shin-Zushi station.

After getting off at Shin-Zushi we stopped at the 100 yen store in the Station complex (Dollar Store) and I picked up some hand-cloths for using to dry your hands or handkerchief-type purposes (public restrooms do not provide paper towels here), and slippers (which didn’t fit and I ended up giving to my Aunt).

Zushi-eki (Train Station):

Shin-Zushi-eki (Train Station):

Once Al and I were back home, everyone gathered up into the car and went to Hase, while Al and I rode the train (to conserve space, Japanese automobiles are extremely compact). Hase is part of the greater Kamakura area, and has a temple with a giant Buddha statue, which was the purpose of going. (It’s made of copper, but apparently was gold-plated at one time in the past.)

There was an entrance to the inside of the giant statue which cost 300 yen (about $3), so we opted to pay and go inside as well:

I took one final photo of everyone gathered up (excluding myself):

On our way back down to the train and car, we stopped at a souvenir shop and I picked up the first of my collection of souvenirs, intended both for myself and family and friends, though it was all very “standard” fare and while not priced extremely high, it wasn’t the cheapest around either.

Once we had the Aunt and Uncle loaded back up in the car, I continued on with Al to Enoshima via the EnoDen (Enoshima-Dentetsu) line, where we briefly stopped and looked around and picked up a quick snack at a konbini. He pointed out the direction which takes you to the island of Enoshima, and I will definitely be visiting that one day soon as it’s rather well-known. After finishing our quick snack we hopped the Shonan monorail which took us to Oofuna. Oofuna is something of a hub for various train lines so you can transfer to go to a specific place while bypassing others.

While at the Oofuna train station, I snapped this picture of a large statue of the peace goddess that sits on the hillside. It’s not a full-sized statue, and only starts around the waist-line or maybe a bit higher, but it was impressive none-the-less.

Another good day, albeit long and weary from all the wandering, and still trying to get adjusted to the timezone shift.