Slow right down in Kamakura, a seaside town of temples in wooded hills and once the seat of Japan's first samurai government. Step into Meigetsu-in Temple, framed by its round window of enlightenment and, in June, banks of blue hydrangeas. Bow at Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū Shrine at the heart of the old capital, then graze your way down Komachi Street. In the afternoon, come face to face with the Great Buddha of Kōtoku-in Temple — a bronze figure more than 11 meters tall, seated calmly in the open air since the 1200s.