Adventure Tokyo: Kamakura

While most visitors to Kamakura enter the city through Kamakura station, your adventure takes you a little bit off the beaten path. Get off one stop before Kamakura, at Kita-Kamakura station. From here, you will start a hike (really, more of a walk) through the mountains surrounding the historic city, dotted on the way with many temples and shrines. You'll have time to explore all the temples you want on the way. Head west out the station and you'll find plenty...read more

While most visitors to Kamakura enter the city through Kamakura station, your adventure takes you a little bit off the beaten path. Get off one stop before Kamakura, at Kita-Kamakura station. From here, you will start a hike (really, more of a walk) through the mountains surrounding the historic city, dotted on the way with many temples and shrines. You'll have time to explore all the temples you want on the way. Head west out the station and you'll find plenty of area maps to get your bearings. First, take a left down the road until you hit Jochi-ji. Stop and admire this small temple's stunning grounds and spooky caves. From there, head back to the road and walk just a little further. Soon, you'll find the trail head on your right. Walking along this trail, you'll find many small temples and shrines to explore or just take a quick look at. After about 2km, follow the signs for the Daibutsu (Great Buddha) and soon you'll see a sign advertising a mountain cafe down a trail on your right. Stop at this beautiful, forest-shrouded retreat for drinks and nibbles, then get back on the trail. After a little more pleasant, rugged walking, with some great vistas and photo opportunities of the town and sea below, you'll eventually descend many stairs, ending right next to the Kotoko-in Temple. This is where the Daibutsu (the second-largest Buddha statue in Japan) lives. Don't miss this most-important monument, and the opportunity to enter his belly for a measly 20 yen. From there, follow the crowd down the road a bit to Hase-Dera Temple nearby. It houses a massive wooden statue of Kannon. It's also famous for its gardens, especially the hydrangeas, and provides another opportunity for some great views of the town and sea. Since you're a little outside of Kamakura proper at this point, take the clanky, quaint Enoden line from Hase station to Kamakura. Here, walk the city proper's historic streets, shopping for such goodies as wooden sandals and tsukemono (Japanese pickles) on your way to Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine. Don't miss the wonderful ponds here, but be careful – the shrine is said to be bad luck for unmarried couples. From there, it's an easy walk back to Kamakura station.  hide