The Taya Caves
I just realized that I never bothered to post these. On the 21st of August, I rode the JR line from Yokosuka through Kamakura and exited at Ofuna in Yokohama. Actually, I got on the wrong train and rode to the end of the line (just a few stops), then I got on the correct train and rode through Kamakura to Ofuna station.
Rather than risk missing my stop while riding a bus, I decided to take a taxi. After asking a smiling attendent at the station, I exited the station. Sadly, I saw no taxis. I did see a police box & asked for directions. The officer didn't understand English, but he did understand "Taya no Dookutsu" and "taxi." He tried to be helpful by detailing how to get to the less expensive bus. After a bit he did send me to the Taxi queue. The trip cost about 1200 yen.
The temple grounds were quite small, being little more than a few small out-buildings, a small graveyard (it was probably very rude of me to take pictures of the tombstones) and a place to buy the tickets to enter the cavern.
The first thing you see on entering the cavern is a little plaque and candle. You are supposed to light the candle they give you. I suppose this is a quaint anachronism, as there are lights in the caverns which are more than sufficient. It's a good thing, since I spun around to see all of the carvings in the first dome & my candle went out.
One of the neat things is that so much is hidden away. The caverns themselves were done for the pleasure (or whatever since they were buddhists) of the doing, and I was finding things hidden in the darkness. The niche that held the candle went back quite a ways. At its end, where no one would see were several figures of the buddha.
As you can see, the conditions of the cavern are pretty bad, with damage from shifting stones and erosion being the primary culprits. The first dome had various animals, which I assume are from the Chinese Zodiac, though I won't bet money on that.
There were many domes, one of the better carvings was of a dragon.
The entire set of photographs can be seen at my Flickr account: http://www.flickr.com/photos/xendaths/sets/72157627358796863/with/6065687910/
All in all, it was one of my more pleasant trips. Prior trips to the Imperial Garden, the Great Buddha of Hase and to the Great Shrine in Kamakura involved my being surrounded by a lot of people. The caves were different, with only a family of four coming through. I occasionally heard other people echoing through the caves but in general it was me and the carvings -- oh & the Buddha.