Kakiya Ryokan — the seaside inn that keeps guests coming back near Enoshima
Here's something worth knowing: among all the ryokan options around Kamakura, Kakiya Ryokan has the largest review base of the group — over 1,300 ratings on Booking and 1,714 on HotelsCombined. A sample that size means the numbers are stable and trustworthy, not a fluke. The two selling points you rarely find together at this price are a 24-hour Komyo stone mineral bath and an old-school shirasu restaurant built right into the inn — with Enoshima beach just a three-minute walk away.
Kakiya Ryokan sits on the Enoshima side of Kamakura, in the Fujisawa district along the Shonan coastline — a three-minute walk from Enoshima beach, the kind of distance where you can smell the sea from your room. This location makes it a natural fit for trips centred on Enoshima Aquarium, a walk around Enoshima island, or simply spending a day on the Shonan coast. To be upfront: if your priority is the great inland temples — Kotoku-in or Tsurugaoka Hachimangu — this side of Kamakura adds an Enoden train ride. But if the ocean is the main event, the location here is the sharpest in the lineup.
"Guests consistently say the bath here is quiet and deeply relaxing — especially late at night when you can slip in alone — and the shirasu meal turns out better than expected."
The feature that comes up most in reviews is the 24-hour Komyo stone bath. It isn't a large communal onsen in the mountain-resort sense — it's a stone bath using Komyo mineral water, tucked inside a traditional inn setting. The value of the round-the-clock access is real: want to soak at midnight after an evening walk around Enoshima? Or wake at four in the morning for a quiet bath before sunrise? You can, without watching the clock — something the majority of budget ryokan around here simply can't offer.
The in-house shirasu restaurant is the other reason many guests choose this place over competitors. Kamaage Shirasu Don — a bowl of lightly blanched Shonan whitebait over rice — is the signature dish, and a local speciality of this coastline. You can find good shirasu elsewhere in the area, but having an established old-school restaurant inside your inn means no hunting around for dinner after a full day of sightseeing. Many guests say they booked a meal-inclusive package and were glad they did.
On the rooms: the inn has both an older building and a newer annexe called Shinkan. Some rooms in the older wing share bathrooms — a genuine trade-off at this price point that divides opinion. If a private en-suite matters to you, specify the Shinkan annexe when booking. Either way the rooms are traditional tatami-style, low tables, futon bedding, the full ryokan experience — aimed at guests who want genuine Japanese inn atmosphere rather than a polished hotel product.
The honest picture on ratings: Booking's score of 8.2 is the lowest in this roundup, but the enormous review count (1,308) makes it one of the more reliable figures here — more stable than a higher score backed by fifty reviews. Recurring criticisms mention older-building rooms where sound travels, and the occasional note about the bath water quality not matching a true natural hot spring. Worth knowing and factoring in.
The straight-talking conclusion: Kakiya Ryokan is the best value in this lineup if your trip is built around the Enoshima coast and you want the ryokan experience — stone bath included, shirasu restaurant in-house — at the lightest price point. More than a thousand reviews say it delivers on that promise. If your focus is inland temples or a genuine natural onsen, a property closer to Kamakura Station or in Hakone will suit you better.
At ¥14,000 per night with 24-hour bath access and a three-minute walk to the beach, Kakiya Ryokan is a name that belongs on any shortlist for budget ryokan stays in the Kamakura area — especially for anyone whose itinerary has the ocean at its heart.
Summary from Booking & Agoda
- ✓ 24-hour Komyo stone bath — soak at any hour without time pressure
- ✓ In-house shirasu restaurant — Kamaage Shirasu Don is the standout dish
- ✓ Largest review base in the group (1,308) — opinions are stable and trustworthy
- ✓ From ¥14,000 — the lightest price point among ryokan with a bath and restaurant
- ! Score of 8.2 is the lowest in this roundup, even with a large base
- ! Older building rooms share bathrooms — specify Shinkan at booking for en-suite
- ! Enoshima-side location — reaching the main Kamakura temples means an Enoden ride
- ✓ 24-hour bath access — quiet and relaxing late at night
- ✓ 3-minute walk to Enoshima beach — ideal for a coastal trip
- ✓ In-house restaurant — no need to find dinner outside after a long day
- ✓ Review base of over a thousand — reliable at scale
- ! The bath uses Komyo stone water, not a true natural hot-spring source
- ! Older building rooms are compact and sound travels between rooms
- ! Check-in from 15:00 — arrive earlier and you'll need to store bags
- 💡If you need an en-suite bathroom — some rooms in the older building share facilities → specify the Shinkan annexe when booking; it has private bathrooms.
- 💡If your trip is centred on Kamakura's main temples — the Enoshima-side location puts Kotoku-in and Tsurugaoka further away → factor in the Enoden journey, or consider a property closer to Kamakura Station.
- 💡If you want a genuine natural hot-spring onsen — the bath here uses Komyo mineral stone water, not a natural geothermal spring → for authentic onsen, Hakone ryokan are a better fit.