- Short description: Kamakura is a coastal city located 1h by train south of Tokyo. Its strategic enclave surrounded by mountains and sea made it the capital of the empire for more than 100 years. Today it is a small coastal town very popular with both local and foreign tourists and in it you can enjoy numerous temples, shrines, monuments and hiking trails. In summer, it is also very popular for its beaches (although everything must be said, it is not that they are any wonder).
- Suggested route: take the Enoden line to Hase station. From here, visit the Hasedera Temple and the Great Buddha. Then follow the indications for the Daibutsu Hiking Trail (Kita Kamakura Station). It is approximately 1h30min-2h of medium intensity hike and, if it is clear, along the way you can see Mount Fuji. If you are not walking, you can always go back to the Hase station and connect with the JR to the Kita Kamakura station. Once here walking about 15min you can visit the Kenchoji Temple, and walking about 15min more, you will find the Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine (although it is the symbol of the city, entering inside is expendable). From here, it is highly recommended to walk 15min more along the river and visit the Hokoku-ji Temple (also called Take-dera), spectacular for being immersed in a bamboo forest. To return, you can walk to Kamakura station (30min) or go to Jomyo-ji (3min on foot) and take the Keikyu bus to Kamakura station (15min).
- How to get:
- If you have the JRP: the Yokosuka and Shonan Shinjuku lines take you directly to Kamakura from Tokyo or Shinjuku station respectively (1h, included in the JRP, ¥ 890 per way if you do not have JRP). In the case of the Shonan Shinjuku line, you have to take the trains in the direction of Zushi, since in the rest you have to change at the Ofuna station.
- If you don't have JRP: the cheapest option is to take the Odakyu Railways train at Shinjuku station. To do this, buy at the same station the Odakyu's Enoshima Kamakura Free Pass, which includes the round trip and unlimited use of the Enoden train once in Kamakura (90min, 1430 ¥).
- How to get around: Kamakura is relatively small and all attractions are concentrated around 3 areas: JR's Kita-Kamakura station (the Engakuji and Kenchoji Zen temples), JR's Kamakura station (Hachimangu Shrine) and the station Hasede of the Enoden line (the Great Buddha and Hasedera). Train journeys cost about ¥ 200-250. It is also possible to rent a bicycle (there are quite a few rental stations near the train station), but the prices are quite high (800 ¥ the first hour, plus 250 ¥ the following hours).
