The Erich Sonntag Postcard Collection (ESPC), then and now 2.
Kamakura Great Buddha
3.6 km by road from Tsurigaokoa Hachimangu which we featured in the first post of those series is Kotoku-in, the Buddhist temple that houses the Great Buddha featured in this old post card seen above. The Great Buddha of Kamakura is another of the first places of interest in Japan that ooohed and awed the first foreign tourists the country would host since Japan closed itself off from the outside in 1633.
Below are several shots I took over the years.
Took this on my first visit. Taken in 1992 while serving in the navy.
My second trip to Kamakura. This time I was a foreign exchange student in Tokyo. 2005
2009
2019
Different views over the years.
Views of other sights around the Kotoku-in Temple.
Next topic will be both famous spots and places not well known nearby; Nikko and its environs.
Link to the postcard collection below.
1992 was my first time there too. I went with my parents who visited me while I worked in Tokyo then.
A magnificent sight!
Looks like the shrine used to be barely there in the old times. Could almost imagine just happening upon this statue while going for a walk in the woods back then.