Kamakura: Best Things to Do
SIGHTSEEING
What is visiting Kamakura without visiting its Great Buddha statue or Daibutsu? It’s one of the main attractions in Kamakura. With the height of 11.4 meters, it’s named as the second tallest bronze Buddha statue in Japan, with the first one is Buddha statue in Nara’s Todaiji Temple.
The statue was created in 1252 and was originally kept inside a temple. However, typhoons and tsunami destroyed the temple multiple times. So, the Daibutsu is now placed in the open air.
Other place to do sightseeing in Kamakura is Enoshima, which can be reached by a train ride in a short time. Located on the west side of Kamakura, Enoshima is a small touristy island connected to the mainland by a bridge. On a clear day, you can enjoy the scenic view of Mount Fuji from Enoshima. The small island also has shrines, park, and observation tower and caves.
Great Buddha
Enoshima
DOWNTOWN
Hasedera Temple or Hase Kannon Temple is an attractive temple famous for its eleven-headed statue of Kannon, the Goddess of Mercy. The height of the statue is 9.8 meters tall, making it as one of the largest Buddhist statues in Japan. Not only the philosophy behind the building, the lovely scenery with trees and ponds around it makes Hasadera Temple is very attractive to the tourists.
Hasedera Temple
SHOPPING
If you want to shop in Kamakura, we recommend you to visit Komachi-dori. It’s a street filled with shop of trendy boutiques, restaurants, and massage parlors. You can also buy gifts and souvenirs in this street, offering many product options. There is a kimono renting place around this area if you want to experience shopping in style.
Komachi Dori
FOOD & DRINK
While visiting Kamakura, try their local food! There are many local street foods and snacks you can try while shopping, such as Tempura Karari (Tempura rice bowl), Hannari Inari (Innari Sushi with a different twist), Kamakura Tenshin (bun with pork fillings), and many others.
There are not so many beverage choices in Japan, so you can drink any Japanese beverages you like, such as green tea (macha), sake, or mugicha.
CULTURE
Kamakura as a city has witnessed the great transformation of Japan. In fact, Kamakura heavily influenced political situation in Japan around 1185 until 1333. A culture of war was developed during Kamakura period, with the Shogun in Power. Zen Buddhism also have a great influence to the city as it was used as the warriors’ values of discipline and austerity.
When visiting Kamakura, you will notice that the city’s art adopted strong characters from Chinese art, such as in its sculpture, paintings, metalworks, and buildings.
BEST TIME TO VISIT
In terms of weather, the best time to visit Kamakura is from April 9th to July 1st. It’s when the weather feels comfortable, not too cold and not too hot. You can also see blooming sakura starting in April. However, the busiest month for Kamakura for tourism is in January, March, and April. The least number of people visiting Kamakura is in December, which makes everything less expensive as well.
HOTEL
After having a day tour in Kamakura, you can rest your body comfortably in a hotel and regain your energy for the next day trip. Our pick for the most comfortable hotel in Kamakura is Kamakura Prince Hotel and WeBase Hotel.
Kamakura Prince Hotel is situated right next to Shichirigahama coast on Sagami Bay. All the rooms overlooking the sea and in a clear day you can see Mount Fuji and Enoshima Island right from your room. Kamakura Prince Hotel also features French and Japanese restaurants.
Our next pick for hotel in Kamakura is WeBase Kamakura. There are various types of rooms offered for guests, such as shared room, private room, family room and Japanese futon room. This hotel is a great choice if you’re a solo traveller and would like to save your money, as well as making friends with other travellers.
Kamakura Prince Hotel
WeBase Hostel
RESTAURANT
If you’re visiting Japan, we suppose that you want to try their culinary as well. Kamakura Matsubaraan is a great restaurant to start. It’s a Japanese restaurant with traditional atmosphere and architectural style. Definitely try their soba if you’re visiting. Worried with your Japanese language skill? Don’t worry, the staffs can speak in English.
The other famous restaurant in Kamakura we recommend is Kaseiro. Instead of Japanese, Kaseiro serves Chinese foods in Kamakura for your lunch or dinner. It’s situated near the Great Buddha of Kamakura, only 0.1 miles away. The building is has a classic Chinese touch in it. Definitely try their peking duck, shark fin soup, and homemade geppei (Chinese cakes).
Kamakura Matsubaraan
Kaseiro Restaurant
CAFE
Wind down and rest your feet rom strolling around the city in Café Vivement Dimanche, Kamakura. It’s a great stop to sit down for a while and sip your coffee. The owner of this café, Takeashi Horiuchi, is one of the most admired coffee masters in Japan.
The café is open every day, except Thursdays and the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of every month. Their signature coffee processing methods include espresso and paper drip. You can also order the famous omelette rice (omurice) in this café!
The second café we recommend in Kamakura is Iwata Coffee. This café has a quaint atmosphere and been running since 1948. Their best seller bites is fluffy pancakes which is sold at JPY 800. It was said that famous writers are often visiting this café!
Cafe Vivement Dimanche
Iwata Coffee
BAR AND NIGHTLIFE
Day and night in Japan should be enjoyable – and to enjoy the night in Japan, to visit their bars is a great choice. Magnetico bar offers you relaxing night with a wide variety of beers. Located just 15 minutes of walking from Kamakura station, this bar could accommodate only 15 people inside. The prices include tax already, which is why it’s quite high. But worry not, their service and yummy foods will not disappoint you.
The other bar you can try is Bar Ram. Just like Magnetico, the place is quite small. Probably could only accommodate 10 people. Music is played through vinyl LPs and you can choose the album yourself. The price is affordable, only JPY 500 per drink except the premium ones. Bartenders are super friendly and attentive.
Magnetico
Bar Ram
INTERESTING PLACE
You need more places to write down in your itinerary? Put Kamakura Yuigahama Beach, then! It’s a sandy beach in Kamakura that has been people’s favourite swimming spot since Meiji era. You can also get surfing and bodyboard lessons here. The beach is wave with gentle waves. Guard is available to watch the visitors.
You can swim at this beach from 9:00 AM to 17:00 PM. Come here in summer! You will find a lot of vendors since there will be an open air market at the beach. This beach is often visited by families and surfers.
You can also put Tokeiji Temple in your itinerary as well. We picked this temple as an interesting place in Kamakura because of its history. Until the Edo Period, the temple was used as a shelter for women who were abused by their husbands and sought a divorce. The divorce itself can be attained by staying in the temple for three years.
Yuigahama Beach
Tokeiji Temple
INSTAGRAMMABLE SPOT
Honestly, we dare to say that almost all corners in Japan is aesthetically pleasing and Instagram-feed worthy. However, our honourable mentions for instagrammable spots in Japan goes to Zuisenji Temple and Hokokuji Temple.
Zuisenji Temple is a Buddhist temple in the eastern part of Kamakura, surrounded with trees and woods, mostly plum. It’s pretty in all seasons, but it goes extra mesmerizing in autumn. The flowers around the temple also makes the place even more picturesque.
Hokokuji Temple itself is located in the eastern Kamakura as well. The atmosphere of the temple is very modest, with small garden in the front part of the area. It is also known for the small bamboo grove found behind the temple’s main hall, with over 2000 dark green bamboo stalks. The bamboo grove looks very peaceful and is a perfect spot for taking photos.
Zuisenji Temple
Hokokuji Temple
