Kamakura

Kamakura is an easy day trip South of Tokyo, it boasts shopping, mountain trails and a giant Buddha statue. It’s easy to access from Tokyo and is popular with locals and international travelers. If you are looking for an easy and scenic trip outside of Tokyo then Kamakura is the place to be, especially as a place to cool off in the ocean in summer, easy hikes and a place to see amazing spring flowers.

Shopping street

Once you arrive at Kamakura station, Komachi-dori street, an excellent spot for shopping! From traditional crafts to dried fruits, chocolates and Japanese anime characters.

And of course lots of places to stop and eat!

While you are here how about making some jewellery…

Matcha

Kamukura is known for it’s matcha. All along the shopping street you will find places to try matcha products and of course matcha ice cream. In some shops there are different grades and strengths to try.

Shrines and temples

Kamakura is well known for the shrines and temples in the area. There are four temples:

• Hokokuji temple – this temple is known for its caves and tea house
• Tsurugaoka Hachimangu shrine – this is a walk up past Kamakura station, through the city to the shrine.
• Hasedera temple and grounds – famous for the gardens, particularly in spring
• Kotokuin Temple boasts the famous bronze statue of Buddha.

Hasadera Temple

Take the Enoden train a couple of stops from Kamakura to Hase station and its a short walk to the temple.

Hasedera is well known for its beautiful gardens, particularly the Hydrangeas in Spring. We went at the end of May and the flowers were just coming out. Early to mid June would be perfect!

Hasedera temple gardens are on the hillside, it’s a steep climb and gives an amazing view of the beach below.

Kotoku-in Temple

This is one of the most famous sights of Kamakura and the giant Buddha statue, Daibutsu. Take the Endoen train to Hase station and its a short walk (past Hasedera temple) up to Kotoku-in temple. There are a number of cute shops along the way.

Hiking trails

There are a number of hiking trails some of which connect the temples.

We decided to do the walk from Kotoku-in temple to Kiso Kamakura station, although we didn’t quite make it…

This walk starts on the main road from Kotoku-in temple. walk to the right when exiting the temple grounds and walk until the tunnels and follow the stairs on the right.

Not long after starting, the walk the path forks. You can go straight ahead, a nice wide well trodden path or you can go right – a narrow muddy windy steep track.

Don’t follow the main path – you need to GO RIGHT!

This is what we did wrong. We spent a half an hour going the wrong way and coming out in another town and then had to walk another half an hour back again… although we saw some very playful squirrels jumping from bamboo to bamboo over our heads.

Once we were back on the right trail it wasn’t long before we came across….

…a cafe of course! and it goes without saying that since we had already walked more than we expected we stopped for a well earned rest and food. And look at it! How could you resist stopping at Itsuki Garden Cafe!!

I love it so much that in Japan you can be hiking and then you come across a cute little cafe nestled in the forest – no wonder I keep coming back to Japan! It’s always, always, all about the food!! And of course it was absolutely amazing food! This is a private garden and so there is a ¥500 entry fee. It’s open every day from 9:30 – 4pm but closes if it’s raining.

The clouds were rolling in so we decided to call it a day. The cafe is accessible by road and so we made our way to the other side of the cafe and the main road and walked our way back to Kamakura and straight to a well deserved kakigori (shaved ice)!

For more information about hikes in the areas check out Japan Guide.

Beaches

Kamakura and Enoshima beaches are popular in summer as they are easy to access from Tokyo. We stopped for a swim at Enoshima on a hot summers day and (compared to Australian beaches), we were a little disappointed that there weren’t many waves and the sand was black! However, it is a popular spot in summer and a good way to cool down.

If you prefer to stop and sip a drink while watching the beach then we recommend stopping at Daisy’s Cafe at Hase for a coffee or a beer. Perfect view of the sand the the locals passing by and friendly locals providing great company. To get here take the Enoden train from Kamakura to Hase station and walk towards the beach, you can’t miss it.

Possible Day itinerary

We have been to Kamakura a couple of times and explored the area in very different ways.

Option 1
Spend the morning in Kamakura shopping and exploring (you won’t have time to do everything so be careful you still leave enough time for Enoshima) and then continue on to Enoshima Island on the cute yellow and green Enoden train. For more about this Island and the dragon legend it’s famous for, see our blog on Enoshima.

Option 2
From Kamakura catch the yellow and green Enoden train a couple of stops to Hase. Have a coffee at Daisy’s cafe overlooking the beach and then walk up to Hasedera temple. After exploring, walk on to Kotoku-in temple to see the Daibutsu statue.
Continue up the main road to the tunnel and walk up the stairs and follow the trail to the right and on to Itsuki Garden Cafe. Enjoy lunch and walk down to the front entrance of the cafe and follow the main road back into Kamakura to explore the shops before catching the train back to Tokyo.

More information

Japan Guide
Japan National Tourism Office

Discount passes

Odakyu trains offer a number of different discount passes on their website. Including Enoden passes. Enoshima and Kamakura passes