The long awaited Studio Ghibli tour

After such a busy day on Friday, we had a late start on Saturday (our last full day in Kamakura). Ian, Frank, Clare and I took a mid morning walk to Zeni Arai Benten, a beautiful shrine in the hills around Kamakura. As is the tradition at Zeni Arai Benten, we washed our money in the hope that it would double. Clare wrote her wishes for 2018 on a heart shaped wooden tablet and tied to a stand with lots of other tablets. We also saw Mt Fuji in the distance. Luckily, it was a lovely sunny morning and the mountain was totally visible.

In the afternoon, we travelled to Mitaka for a visit to the Studio Ghibli Museum. Studio Ghibli is the major anime studio in Japan founded by Hayao Miyazaki. He is responsible for internationally known movies such as Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke. This had been a goal for all of us since we decided to come to Japan but it wasn't easy to achieve as tickets are hard to come by and have to be bought months in advance. Luckily, we have friends on the inside (thanks Midori) so we were able to get tickets. The museum was a great example of what museums should be. Many of the rooms were recreations of the rooms Miyazaki worked in and they showed his creative process. It was fantastic and worth a visit if you are an anime fan.

We got back to Kamakura around 7. Frank took Ian on a boys night out around his favourite watering holes while the rest of us began to pack up ready to move on in the morning.