Our first trip off base ( Kamakura--Great Buddha)

So when you first get to Japan everything is very overwhelming and scary mostly because it is something new. If you are like us and get here at night then you do not get to really see what anything looks like so venturing off base could be a bit scary. I am here to say do not worry once you get here you are required to go through and AOB/ICR (Area Orientation Brief/Intercultural Relations) which will fully prepare you for going out in town which will be one the 3rd day of your AOB/ICR. 

On the 2nd day of our ICR they will show you how to use the trains as well as give some recommendations on where to visit fully preparing you for your 3rd day which is your "field trip."  On this field trip you will be taken on a bus to the train station Sagami-Ōtsuka Station. Once you are at the station you will be  shown how to get a pasmo card which is a prepaid card you can use instead of getting a ticket every time you use the train or bus. The pasmo card can also be used on all train lines which you will learn is a lot. 

So the trains, you may be wondering how you know where to get off or which train to get on do not worry they have the information in Japanese and English you just have to be patient and wait it will come. 

So we took the train from Sagami-Ōtsuka to Yamato Station which is the very next stop on the Sagami Railway (this is a small railway compared to some others). From Yamato Station we got on another train and made our way to to Kamakura which is where the Great Buddha is located. Once off the train we had to walk a about 5 minutes which is not bad. I will warn you that the main road you walk on toward the great buddha is very "touristy" so things may be a bit more pricey than normal.Now this "Great Buddha" is not the biggest buddha in Japan however it is I believe the second. This Buddha for me was a bit lackluster since the gardens were not what I had expected but it was still pretty impressive. We will definitely go back more toward spring/summer to see it when all of the trees and flowers are in bloom.  

 From the great buddha we just kind of walked around and got a bit lost on purpose. There are bunch more shrines and museums around the area but we were on a bit of a time crunch since we had to pick up our kids at the CDC by 1630. The area where the buddha is located is in a seaside village on the Sagami Bay. This area was beautiful and I am sure it will be even better in the summer. When we were on the train approaching the station you could see the water littered with surfers, it somewhat reminds you of Califonia or what you would imagine California would look like just in Japan.   

Enoshima---small island near great buddha that can only be accessed by foot 

 We ended up eating at a small Japanese restaurant that was down an alleyway. Since my husband has traveled all over Europe and the Middle East his experience is that the best food is off the beaten path. The restaurant was small but the food was pretty good. Since my experience with traditional Japanese food is limited I thought it was pretty good, however I did not like that the menu just contained photos no description (even in Japanese) and no prices were listed. Our bill came out to $23.00 which in my opinion is a lot for 2 people who only had a small cup of tea and a noodle bowl.

We also stumbled upon this little bread shop which lured us in by the smell of fresh bread. It is located on one of the side road on the other side of the train station from the Great Buddha. The shop is called Bread Code written in English and the bread in absolutely worth the carbs.

We also stopped by a little bakery near Yokohama Station on our way back on the train called Little Mermaid Bakery. This bakery was highly recommended to us by one of our ICR instructors and I can see why. All I can say is O-MY-GOODNESS!!!! everything we got was so good, we will definitely be going back again.

All in all our first trip outside of base was a good experience. The trains were very easy to us and are definitely efficient and when you are told they are always on time they are not lying. Our next trip out we will be taking the kids, I am hoping to take them to Enoshima (the little island pictured above) to see the Sea Candle.