Friday morning after we got back to Japan, Melody had to go back to work. Since she was going to be gone the whole day, I figured that it would be a good time to go visit some of the sights around Kamakura without dragging her to the same places she's already seen a few times before. And also, getting up early would be a great way to see the sunrise on Mt Fuji, and check out the Hachimangu temple without a whole bunch of tourists getting in the way of my pictures. (I can sort of say that, since technically, when I visit, I'm a "Local.")

So, I woke up at the same time as Melody, and she dropped me off on the side of the beach road and headed on to work. I wandered around for a few minutes, looking for a coffee vending machine, and of course, after finding one, and getting a couple of cans of hot coffee (God Bless the Japanese and their wonderful vending machines), I walked right past the 4 vending machines that I'd totally overlooked right by where she dropped me off. So much for being observant of your surroundings. 3 weeks out of Saudi Arabia (where you're constantly scanning what's around you trying to discern whether or not that guy who sort of looks like Osama really IS Osama) had really made my situational awareness drop into the "green - Mafi Mushkhela / No Problem" zone.

I wandered over to Inamuragasaki Point, a small spit of land jutting out into the Sagami Bay. A short climb up a few steps, and I was at a peaceful overlook. I sipped my coffee, set up a few shots, and just enjoyed the quiet. As I watched the sun rise and begin to illuminate Mt. Fuji, I noticed that there were quite a few squirrels, pigeons, crows, and black kites (the hawk-like bird that flies around) up there. With the combination of sharp-clawed raptors and juicy looking squirrels, I thought I might get a little bit of "Wild Kingdom" with my coffee.

Do you want me to shoot you?
Presently, an older Japanese man came up and started feeding the squirrels. Now, next to camels and monkeys, my favorite animal in the world has to be squirrels. He too seemed pretty fond of the little critters. He saw me watching him, and he noticed that I was a gaijin (foreigner) - not that that took any serious brain power - and came over to talk to me. His English was excellent, but I was a little taken aback when he asked, "Do you want me to shoot you?"
"Uh, No?" I replied.
"You don't want your picture taken with Fujisan?" he asked.
"Oh! You mean with the camera! Yeah, sure...that would be really nice of you," I replied, embarrassed at the initial misunderstanding...

Then he shot me.

Since that fellow had been feeding the squirrels, I figured, "hey, I can do that too!" I went to my bag, and grabbed the rice krispy treat that I'd been saving for breakfast. This was a double benefit in my mind...I got to feed squirrels and pigeons, and I would have an excuse to go to Mr. Donut (why isn't it Donutsan since we're in Japan?) for breakfast. So, I pulled the treat out of my pocket and broke off a small piece. The squirrels came scampering, and the pigeons came...pigeoning (or whatever they do) to get some. It was a big hit with them all. Suddenly, out of the blue, I was struck by a large, feathery thing that just about knocked the treat out of my hand.

As I flinched and realized what happened, I saw one of the kites flapping off and screeching as he flew back to his perch. Once there, he just stared at me. What was THAT about? A big, scary looking hawk-thing that would rather have a rice krispy treat than a fat squirrel or pigeon? I guess I should have known, seeing as Melody and I watched one attack a lady and steal her hamburger down by the beach one day.

There was a younger fellow up on the overlook with me by now, and he looked over, laughed at me and said, "Very dangerous!"

"Hai!" I said...(no kidding, fella...)

So, a bit more aware of the dangers, I sat again and fed more treat (breaking off pieces from my jacket pocket) to the critters around me. One rather bold squirrel jumped on my leg a few times, and was promptly shook off and fed for his insistence. I like them, but I wasn't ready to let them swarm all over me just yet...

It only took one moment of complacency...that's all it ever takes. Not thinking, I pulled the treat from my pocket and broke off a morsel for the biggest squirrel. Just then, WHAM! The ever vigilant bird saw his opportunity and struck. He ripped the rice krispy treat from my hands, plastic and all, just nicking my thumb with his razor sharp talons. It was amazing...in a split second, I was nursing a sore, slightly bloody thumb and cursing the bird it flew off to the top of a nearby tree to savor his kill. Then, he choked on the plastic, and fell out of the tree, dead. OK, actually, that's what I wanted to happen, not what actually did happen...I mean, come on! Who wouldn't want to eat this "plump when you cook him" squirrel?!? But NO...he wanted my one and only rice krispy treat. Stupid bird...

This time, the man really laughed at me, and then walked down the hill. Since the sun had come up, and I was fresh out of anything to feed the animals, I took a few more pictues of Mt. Fuji and the beach, and surfers down in the water. While they all had wetsuits, it was a brisk morning, and I'm pretty sure that I wouldn't have been out there, even if I knew how to surf.

Old lady watching the runners from Kamakura HS.

As I stood there taking pictures, the laughing man came up to me and gave me a can of coffee...I guess he felt sorry that my treat was so rudely snatched away...Nice of him.

Finally, I headed out to the train station to ride up to Kamakura station. It must have been umbrella recycling day, because I saw piles of umbrellas in front of several houses...Strange.

If anything, that morning I learned that you put out your old umbrellas on Friday. And, don't feed the birds! Then, I continued on to the station...Donutsan was only 2 stops away...