Will Robb Photography

Tokyo is crammed with places to go and things to do, but sometimes you just need to get away from it all and slow things down a gear or two. For anyone living in Tokyo, or even just passing through, Kamakura is an ideal get away for a day. This culturally and historically rich city was an ancient capital of Japan from 1185-1333 and boasts a number of magnificent temples and shrines as well as the famous “daibutsu” (big Buddha). It’s on a smaller scale than Kyoto, making it easy to navigate and with all the major attractions within short distances of each other, you can get around all the main sites quite easily in one day if you are willing to walk a bit and jump on an occasional bus or two. Most of the sites are signposted in English as well as Japanese, so it’s not too difficult to get around either. At weekends it can become quite crowded, especially in the hot summer months, but a trip during the week can result in a much more peaceful and relaxing experience.

Less than an hour from Tokyo station on the Yokosuka line (56 minutes, 890 yen) it doesn’t require a big budget to get to and doesn’t really require an extremely early start. Most sites are open 8am-5pm (4pm closures in the winter), but if you arrive there between 10 and 11am you can manage to see a lot. A good option is to get off the train at Kita Kamakura station and make your way on foot to Kamakura station via a few of the temples, then jump on the bus or the Enoden Enoshima line to visit the daibutsu and some of the temples in it’s vicinity.

If you start your trip at Kita Kamakura, leave the station on the left and head into Engaku Ji which is just to the left of the station. There is a 200 yen entry fee to this sprawling temple complex that was founded in 1282. It is one of the main Rinzai zen temples in Kamakura, featuring an impressive wodden gate at the entrance to the complex and massive Engaku-ji bell which is said to have been cast in 1301.

You can probably spend a good 45 minutes wandering round Engaku-ji, but if you don’t have a lot of time on your hands and want to squeeze in the best sites, a few hundred meters past Engaku-ji, Kencho-ji is a good place to start. It’s well worth it’s 300 yen admission fee, it features Kamakura’s oldest zen garden , ancient cypress trees throughout it’s grounds and some of the halls featuring statues of Buddha are very impressive.

Continue on towards Kamakura station and make a stop at Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gu. It’s easily recognized by an arched bridge that was once a bridge only for the shogun himself to walk upon and the dramatic design of the buildings which stand in stark contrast to the more solemn zen temples that come before. Entry is free, but if you want to check out the exhibition halls you have to pay a mere 100 yen. The complex in itself makes the venue interesting enough, so unless you are a bit of a temple buff there isn’t really much need to pay anything for a visit here.

From Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gu it’s about a 10-15 minute walk to Kamakura station. By the time you get there, you’ll probably be hungry. There are plenty of the ubiquitous fast food places just in front of the station, but in the shopping street that runs back towards the temples there are a number of good eateries. Most of the places advertised with an English menu are pretty pricey, but the food is good. If you speak a bit of Japanese and look around a bit more you can find some old style eateries which are a bit cheaper and pack in a bit more atmosphere.

After you’ve eaten, head to the daibutsu. You can get the Enoden Enoshima line to Hase station and walk 10 minutes, or for an easier option, get bus from stop number 2, 7 or 10 (200 yen) and get off at daibutsu mae station. The 200 yen entry fee to the daibutsu is the best money you will spend. There isn’t much other than the big buddha to see, but it really is stunning. It sits 11.4m tall and weighs 850 tonnes. You can pay an extra 20 yen to go inside, but it’s just dark and musty and there really isn’t anything to see. From the outside it is stunning though. You’ll find you take more photos of this one thing than anything else when you are in kamakura. The daibustsu used to be housed in a temple, but in 1495 a massive tsunami washed away the building and the buddha was left as it was. It’s probably more than a kilometer from the sea, the tidal wave really must have been massive to travel so far inland and cause such damage.

After leaving there, head straight down the street past the souvenir stores, after about 100 meters you will see the entrance to Hase Dera temple which is another gem in Kamakura’s treasury. It’s 300 yen to get in, but again it’s worth every yen. Even on weekends it can be a lot quieter than other kamakura temples, many people just see the nearby big buddha and head off somewhere else, but it’s definately worth spending some time here. As soon as you enter there are some beautiful little ponds with koi swimming around and water features cascading down the hill. Climb up some stairs and you will come across thousands of jizo statues (the patron saint of children who have died and also of travelers) standing at the feet of larger Kannon statues. These jizo can be found in many parts of the temple grounds, many have been clothed with red hats and cloaks by those who have lost children. Very sad an beautiful all at the same time.

Continue up the stairs and you will find a museum and a vault containing buddhist scriptures You can spin the vault round and you are said to obtain all the knowledge held within the tomes. I tried it, but it didn’t seem to have the desired effect, maybe I turned it in the wrong direction. There are a few paths leading up the hill which offer good views of the bay and gives you a better idea of how the tsunami of 1495 traveled inland to the big buddha. After all of this, you can sit under a nice red paper umbrella and look at some bamboo whilst having an ice-cream or a beer.

After that you’ll probably be all templed out for the day. If you make your way down to the bay area there are a few good seafront restaurants, many selling some local Enoshima beers. Also, you are nearby Yokohama, so it’s a good option to drop by there for a night walk in the cool sea breeze and there are many good dinner options there too.