The back story
Kamakura: the Great Buddha and the old capital by the sea
The bronze Great Buddha sitting in the open air, Tsurugaoka Hachimangū at the head of its avenue, temples in the wooded hills and a beach: an hour from Tokyo.
Photo Credit
Image courtesy of © DXR · CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia CommonsKamakura, about an hour south of Tokyo by JR, was the seat of Japan’s first shogunate from the late 12th century. It keeps the bronze Great Buddha of Kōtoku-in, sitting in the open air, the shrine of Tsurugaoka Hachimangū and a ring of Zen temples in the hills, by the sea.
Getting there
JR’s Yokosuka Line runs from Tokyo and Shinagawa to Kamakura; the little Enoden railway runs along the coast to Hase, for the Great Buddha.
The temples
Tsurugaoka Hachimangū, at the top of Wakamiya-ōji, the avenue from the sea; the Great Buddha at Kōtoku-in; and the Zen temples of Kita-Kamakura.
Go on a weekday: weekends and holidays are very busy.
By the sea
Yuigahama beach is a short walk from the Great Buddha; the Enoden continues to the island of Enoshima.
Our advice: start at Kita-Kamakura and walk south through the temples to the town.
Why it's on our list
- Getting there
- The temples
- By the sea
What’s nearby
Distances from Kamakura: the Great Buddha and the old capital by the sea are approximate, measured in a straight line (as the crow flies). Times are approximate too: walking at about 80 metres a minute, cycling at about 12 km/h and driving at typical city-traffic speeds. Traffic and routes vary.
Key sights
- Haneda Airport32 kmCar or taxi 113 min
Main railway stations
- Shinagawa Station38 kmCar or taxi 134 min
Location
The map comes from Google Maps, which sets its own cookies once it loads.
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