Kamakura Private Tour: Great Buddha, Tsurugaoka Hachimangu and the Zen Temples

Kamakura is a small city on the Sagami Bay coast, about fifty kilometres south of central Tokyo, and for a hundred and fifty years — from the 1180s until 1333 — it was the capital of Japan in everything but name. The emperor remained in Kyoto; the country was actually run from here, by the warrior government that Minamoto no Yoritomo built. That is why a town of under two hundred thousand people holds temples that would otherwise belong to a major city.

It is also one of the few places near Tokyo where a car is genuinely useful in some parts and genuinely useless in others, and knowing which is which saves a whole day. This page is mostly about that distinction, and about what is actually worth your hours once you are here.

Why Kamakura matters historically

Yoritomo established his military government at Kamakura after the Genpei War, and the city was laid out with defence in mind: mountains on three sides, the sea on the fourth, and narrow passes that could be held by a small force. The Kamakura shogunate ruled through the thirteenth century and fell in 1333, after which the political centre moved back west and Kamakura became what it is now — a temple town built around the ruins of a capital.

Two consequences are visible today. First, the temples here are of the highest rank, founded by regents and shoguns rather than by local priests. Second, the street plan is the medieval one: narrow, irregular, and not designed for the volume of traffic that now uses it.

Tsurugaoka Hachimangu, and the approach to it

Tsurugaoka Hachimangu is the city's central shrine, founded in 1063 by Minamoto no Yoriyoshi and moved to its present site in 1180 by Yoritomo, who made it the protective shrine of his government. It sits at the top of a wide approach, the Dankazura, a raised cherry-tree path laid through the middle of Wakamiya Oji — by tradition a prayer for the safe childbirth of Yoritomo's wife Masako. The raised walk is still there, still lined with cherries, and still the spine of the town.

The shrine itself is entered through three torii in a line, crossed by the drum bridge, and centred on the Maiden dance stage where performances are held. The main hall stands at the top of sixty-one stone steps, with a view back down the approach to the sea. In the shrine grounds there is also a small museum holding swords and armour, and a pond that is at its best in early summer for lotus and iris.

In the first three days of January this is one of the busiest shrines in the Kanto region for hatsumode, the first visit of the year, and the approach becomes a queue rather than a walk. September brings the shrine's own festival, with archery and a procession through the streets.

The Great Buddha at Kotoku-in

The Great Buddha is a bronze Amida Nyorai, just over thirteen metres tall including its stone base, cast according to temple records around 1252. It was made for a hall that no longer exists: the buildings around it were destroyed repeatedly by storms and fire, and the final hall was washed away by a tsunami in 1498. The statue has stood in the open air ever since, which is the reason people find it so striking — it was designed as an interior object and has spent five hundred years as an outdoor one.

You can walk around it, and for a small fee inside it, where the seams of the casting are visible. The grounds also hold the warachi — the giant straw sandals hung on the fence — and a bell from the same period. Kotoku-in is in Hase, on the west side of the city, ten minutes from the station by the Enoden line or about twenty-five minutes on foot through the back streets.

The Zen temples: the Five Mountains

Kamakura has its own ranking of five great Zen temples, the Kamakura Gozan, modelled on a Chinese system and headed by two foundations that are still working monasteries.

Kencho-ji, founded in 1253 by the regent Hojo Tokiyori with the Chinese monk Rankei Doryu as founding abbot, ranks first and is the oldest Zen training monastery in Japan. The approach is a long avenue of cedars; the grounds climb a valley behind it, past the bell tower — the bell is a National Treasure — to the Hansobo hall at the top, from where the paths continue into the hills. The karamon gate and the main hall were rebuilt in later centuries, but the plan is the original one.

Engaku-ji, founded in 1282 by Hojo Tokimune, ranks second and is the largest of the group, a series of terraces cut into the hillside. Its Shariden, the reliquary hall, is a National Treasure and the best surviving example of Song-dynasty style in eastern Japan. The upper terrace, reached by a long flight of steps, is one of the quietest places in the city, and the autumn colour here is the reason many people come in late November.

The remaining three, Jufuku-ji, Jochi-ji and Jomyo-ji, are smaller and mostly visited by people walking the Daibutsu hiking trail, a ridge path that links the western temples and the Great Buddha in about an hour of easy walking.

The west side, the bamboo, and the coast

Hase-dera sits on the hill above Yuigahama, five minutes from Hase station. Its main image is a 9.18-metre gilded Kannon carved, by tradition, from a single camphor trunk — one of the largest wooden statues in Japan. The temple is also the city's hydrangea site: some 2,500 plants of around forty varieties line the slopes above the sea, and in June the paths are managed with numbered tickets because of the volume of people. The viewing platform over Sagami Bay is worth the climb in any season.

Hokoku-ji, a Rinzai temple founded in 1334, is known for its take-niwa — a bamboo grove of some two thousand moso stalks behind the main hall, with a small tea house where matcha is served facing it. It is fifteen minutes by car from the centre, in the direction of the hills, and it is the single place most visitors miss because it is not on the Enoden line.

The Enoden is the small railway that runs from Kamakura along the coast to Fujisawa: two carriages, ten kilometres, fifteen stations, and a stretch between Inamuragasaki and Kamakura-Kokomae where the track passes within a few metres of the houses and the sea is directly outside the window. It is slow, it is crowded at weekends, and it is the best twenty minutes in the area. Enoshima, at the western end, is a small island connected by a bridge: a shrine to Benzaiten, a lighthouse observation tower, a garden, and caves at the back of the island.

What a car does, and does not, solve here

This is the honest part. Central Kamakura — the shrine, Komachi-dori, the Great Buddha — is a pedestrian place. The roads are narrow, many are one-way, parking near the main sights is limited and expensive, and on a weekend in autumn or during hydrangea season the traffic into the centre can cost more time than it saves. For that core, the Enoden and your feet are faster.

A car earns its place in three specific jobs. One: getting here from Tokyo, Yokohama or the airport without a train change, with luggage, and arriving at the first sight before the coaches. Two: the western and northern temples — Hokoku-ji, Zuisen-ji, the ridge trailheads — which are badly served by public transport and are exactly where the crowds are not. Three: joining Kamakura to something else in the same day: Enoshima and the Shonan coast, Yokohama in the late afternoon, or Hakone the next morning.

What we do not do is pretend a car can park at the Great Buddha's door, or that you can see five temples in a day and enjoy any of them. Two or three, chosen well, is a proper day.

Getting there — measured driving times

• Tokyo Station to Kamakura: about 1 hour 14 minutes by car (measured).
• Shinjuku to Kamakura: about 1 hour 19 minutes (measured) — the western side of Tokyo is slightly slower because of the run through the city.
• Yokohama to Kamakura: about 42 minutes (measured), which makes Kamakura an easy half-day addition to a Yokohama stay.
• Haneda Airport to Kamakura: about 54 minutes (measured); Narita Airport: about 1 hour 51 minutes (measured).
• Kamakura to Enoshima: about 23 minutes (measured) along the coast road.
• Kamakura to Hakone-Yumoto: about 1 hour 3 minutes (measured) — the usual next stop on a Tokyo–Kamakura–Hakone route.

One day, or two

One day from Tokyo: Tsurugaoka Hachimangu and the Dankazura in the morning before the crowds, Komachi-dori for lunch, then the Great Buddha and Hase-dera in the afternoon, finishing on the coast at Inamuragasaki or Enoshima for sunset. That is a full, unhurried day and the one most people want.

One day with a car and a driver: add Hokoku-ji's bamboo grove and one of the Zen mountains (Kencho-ji for scale, Engaku-ji for quiet) either before or after the core, and skip the walk between them.

Two days: give the second day to the temples and the hills — the Daibutsu hiking trail, Zuisen-ji and the east side — or stay a night and see the shrine at eight in the morning, when the approach belongs to the people who live there.

When to come

June is hydrangea season and the wettest, busiest month on the west side; the flowers are worth it if you start early. Late November is the autumn peak at Engaku-ji and the hills, and the most photographed week of the year. January is quiet except for the first three days at the shrine. Summer is hot and humid, and the coast is at its best in the evening. Winter is the clearest season for the view from the hills across the bay to Mount Fuji, which is the compensation for the cold.

What we do, and what we do not

We are a private tour operator: one party, one vehicle, a driver who knows this stretch of coast, and a route built around your dates rather than a fixed departure. We do not sell seats on a coach, we do not promise you a parking space at the Great Buddha, and we will tell you honestly when the train is the better answer for a particular leg.

Frequently asked questions

Is Kamakura worth a full day from Tokyo?

Yes — a full day is the right length. Half a day covers the shrine and the Great Buddha only, and misses the Zen temples and the coast, which are the reason Kamakura is more than a photo stop.

Can we see Kamakura and Hakone in one day?

Not properly. Kamakura to Hakone-Yumoto is about an hour and three minutes by car (measured), but Hakone needs a day of its own for the ropeway, the lake and the onsen. Doing both in one day means spending most of it in the car.

Do we need a car inside Kamakura?

For the central sights, no — the Enoden and walking are faster and the parking is scarce. A car is worth it for Hokoku-ji and the northern temples, for arriving from Tokyo or the airport with luggage, and for combining Kamakura with Enoshima, Yokohama or Hakone.

How long do we need at the Great Buddha?

About forty-five minutes including the grounds, and a little longer if you go inside the statue. Most people combine it with Hase-dera, which is a ten-minute walk or one stop on the Enoden.

When are the hydrangeas at Hase-dera?

June, in the rainy season, is the peak — some 2,500 plants of around forty varieties. It is also the busiest month on that side of the city, and the temple manages the paths with numbered tickets at peak times.

Is Kamakura suitable for a family with children?

Yes. The shrine approach, the Great Buddha and the Enoden are all easy, the coastal train is an attraction in itself for children, and the walking distances in the centre are short. The Daibutsu hiking trail is the one part that needs older children or a relaxed pace.

Can we drive to Enoshima as well?

Yes — about 23 minutes by car (measured) from Kamakura along the coast. Note that the bridge to the island is for pedestrians and the Enoshima Benten bridge carries traffic to the island's car parks, which fill early on weekends.