Hasedera Temple

While the great Buddha is by far the most famous place to visit in this region, there are many more temples to enjoy.
The Hasedera Temple is the location of a famous statue of Kannon, carved from a camphor tree. As the story goes, 2 statues were actually carved, one placed in the Hasedera Temple near Nara. The 2nd one was tossed in the ocean (so that it would some day reappear to save people - hmmmm). It did indeed wash ashore on the beach near Kamakura so a 2nd Hasedera Temple was constructed. It has made it famous as one of the holy places in this area.
The grounds of this temple are quite extensive, featuring some wonderful, secluded, peaceful meditative areas - a very pleasant hour walking about it. The statue was gorgeous though, alas, we could not take pictures of it.