TacoCat’s Travels #266 (Tokyo): Exploring Secret Caves in Hasedera Temple! ⛰

3 days ago · 8 min read · Kamakura

Hey Hive!

If you missed the last few posts, I started sharing about our anniversary trip to Tokyo back in Feb 2023! It'd been at least 3 years since we visited Tokyo and the last time was pre-covid so we decided to go back and find some new places to explore while revisiting our favourite hot-spots.

Last time, we started exploring another temple not too far from the Great Buddha statue in Kamakura called Kamakura Hasedera Temple! Apparently it's a pretty famous temple because of the variety of flora in every season, except Winter of course.

It was a shame we couldn't get to see the flora here but we did see a lot of little Buddha statues that looked quite cute actually.

We went through the main building of the temple, explored the Kannon Museum and ended up at an observatory where there was a warning for kites, which I learned is a type of bird.

There's still more to this temple so let's continue!

3 Feb 2023. Friday.

There are a number of Buddha statues surrounding the observatory, including this one that's on a nice pedestal.

There was also this pathway that led to these two small buildings, one of which was actually a restaurant! I think it was more like a bar serving alcohol and some finger food and this man is actually the owner of the bar walking to serve some customers.

It seems weird to have alcohol so early but I guess the temple does close at 4pm so I guess there's not much choice. I expected it to be an actual restaurant though not a bar.

Anyway, the other building is a Rinzo hall that houses a Mani-Guruma, which is a Japanese Buddhism prayer wheel. Apparently turning it a certain direction will give you the merit from reading the sutras.

We're not very religious so I'm not too familiar with the rituals and procedures but I guess it's something like getting blessings. It has such an interesting design though and looks completely made of wood which is cool.

There's a koi pond with some beautiful colourful koi swimming in it that made the whole area so peaceful.

Among the greenery surrounding the Rinzo building, you'll find some charming bamboo trees lining a picturesque path that invites you to take a leisurely stroll. It's a lovely spot to soak in the serene atmosphere!

There was a flight of stairs leading upstairs further into the temple. Initially we thought it was blocked because of that bar but the stairs were clear so we decided to try and head up.

On the way we saw another religious statue that seemed more like a god from Hinduism but apparently one of the Buddhas has many arms as well. His name is Avalokiteshvara and he's often depicted as having many heads and arms representing his far-reaching and all-seeing powers.

The path up the mountain was actually longer than we expected and there were quite a number of stairs, and multiple levels as well.

When we reached the top of all the stairs we could see most of the town below us.

We took some photos and I actually found one wildflower growing in the midst of all the dead plants, trying its best to survive as long as possible.

There was a little outcropping with more statues and another incense pot for people to leave their joss sticks.

I think this was the end of the trail actually. There wasn't much else around so after enjoying the view for a bit we headed back down the stairs from whence we came.

We headed back to the Rinzo building and I realised I missed these little statues! They're so adorable I'm glad we came by this way.

We pretty much explored everything on this side of the temple so we started making our way back towards the entrance, passing by more statues along the way.

Soon enough we were back where we started. I imagine these trees surrounding this pond would be beautiful in full bloom.

The entrance has quite a few koi ponds which we didn't get to see the first time we came in since we headed off the main path due to a crowd.

One of the buildings had this notice taped to it, which I found quite curious. I have heard of the Japanese stories about people using beans or millet to throw at onis or Japanese demons to ward them away, which I guess this sign is alluding to?

The main path intriguingly leads to a cave nestled within the temple, sparking our curiosity as to its purpose.

On the way to the cave we passed by a bigger version of the cute Buddha statue we've been seeing.

We also passed by what looked like a fancy prayer hall.

I'm not sure what this building was but it looked like the temple compound. It might be where the monks stay but I'm not too sure. The bonsai trees flanking the entrance looked really nice though. It really seemed like the entrance to a Japanese mansion.

There was another area for more prayer plaques here for people to write their wishes down.

These prayer tablets were special to Benten and they all had a nice print of this goddess.

Beside it was this little pond with a bamboo slide that seemed to be filling the pond with mountain water. I'm not too sure if its fit for drinking though.

There was a bright red torii gate at the entrance of the cave that was actually quite short.

I wasn't sure what to expect but going inside a cave in a temple was not it. There was a proper passageway through though which was good.

It was quite dark in the cave, other than some candles and the brightest area was the entrance.

But there were even more statues here that looked like they were carved out of the mountain itself. These were probably the oldest ones in the temple.

It was an incredible experience, feeling as though we embarked on an expedition through the mountains. It was like we had seamlessly transported from the temple into a stunning mountain landscape.

Of all the stone statues this particular one was lit up and the only one with some flowers and a donation box in front of it. I guess this statue was also supposed to be of Benten and maybe this cave is dedicated to her. The instrument looked familiar though.

Deeper in the cave, there was an even smaller tunnel entrance! We weren't sure if we were allowed to enter but heard some voices from within so carefully crawled our way in.

Inside was an actual full-on cave. It felt like we were in a secret tunnel in the middle of the mountain.

I'm not sure why this place was so special since there were just these small statues that looked quite normal to me. There must've been some religious significance but there wasn't any information around so we were stumped.

This smaller cave was deeper than we anticipated. There was even a pretty long hallway!

It was also very dark in the areas without the lamps, which just proves how deep into the mountain we were. The ceiling was also quite low, and even though I'm short I felt like I had to stoop a little bit.

The hallway opened up into this area surrounded with numerous little figures of what looked like the same Buddha holding the instrument.

Apparently this Buddha is called Benten and she is the Japanese goddess of eloquence, good fortune, and knowledge.

These tiny figures of Benten are apparently made from recycled rice. I'm not sure how they're made but they looked quite cute, and we wondered how they were preserved since it's technically made of food and would've probably rot.

After we were done looking around, we made our way to the exit of the cave. There were some dark tunnels connecting the open areas of the cave that looked quite spooky.

The ceiling was pretty low but thankfully I'm short enough that I didn't bump my head. I think Sean had to stoop though which might be uncomfortable.

Thankfully the exit had plenty of headroom so we enjoyed a nice stroll out.

After we exited the cave, we started making our way back to the entrance of the temple. There was a tall structure that resembled a lightning rod.

This charming area feels like a mini zen garden, perfect for capturing stunning photos in the springtime.

Of course the temple had a gift shop selling various souvenirs and religious memorabilia. Nothing really interesting though, except for the dachshund sculpture at the entrance!