The Great Buddha and the seaside temples
Red shrine gates in the morning, the little Enoden train rolling along the coast, a 13-metre bronze Buddha that has sat in the open air for 750 years — the day that explains why a town of 174,000 people draws 20 million visitors a year.
Step off the train at Kamakura Station, take the east exit, and head straight up Komachi-dori (小町通り) — a 400-metre shopping lane of manju sweets, coffee and craft shops that runs all the way to Tsurugaoka Hachimangu, the principal shrine of Kamakura, founded in the 12th century by the shogun Minamoto no Yoritomo. Walk up the red staircase, past the raised Dankazura approach and the lotus ponds on either side, to the main hall on the rise at the far end.
The mood here is quietly dignified — vermilion pillars, sweeping roofs, paper fortunes hanging in rows, and on some mornings a Shinto ceremony with white-robed priests moving with great care. This is a living place of worship, so please visit respectfully and photograph with consideration for those who have come to pray.
Walk back to Kamakura Station and board the Enoden (Enoshima Electric Railway) to Hase station — five minutes, ¥200. The Enoden is a tiny local line that hugs the coast between Kamakura and Fujisawa; sit on the right-hand side for the sea views.
From Hase station it's about a 5-minute uphill walk to Hasedera, a Buddhist temple set into the hillside. The lookout terrace gives you a panorama over the sea and the town below, and inside stands a remarkable 9.18-metre carved wooden statue of Kannon, ancient and quietly imposing. In June the hydrangeas come into full bloom across the temple slope.
From Hasedera, follow the road another 7–10 minutes to Kotoku-in, home of the Great Buddha (Kamakura Daibutsu) — a 13.35-metre, 121-tonne bronze figure cast in 1252. It once sat inside a great hall, but the hall was destroyed by a storm in the late 15th century, and the Buddha has sat in the open air ever since. Standing quietly among the green pines, its face serene, it has a way of making visitors stop walking and breathe a little deeper without quite meaning to.
From Kotoku-in walk a little west, or ride the Enoden one stop, to Yuigahama beach — the long white-sand stretch that runs into Shichirigahama. By late afternoon the beach quietens down; grab a soft-serve or a coffee from one of the little roadside stands, sit by the water and watch the sea for a while before heading back.
For dinner, stop in the streets around Kamakura Station before catching your train. Shirasu-don — a bowl of fresh tiny whitebait over rice — is the dish Kamakura does best, with good shops along Komachi-dori and near the station for ¥1,000–2,000 a head. Or try anything built around the fresh catch from Sagami Bay. For more, see the Kamakura food guide.
