Kamakura is stuffed with entertaining shrines and temples, but this is the only one with a hillside of gorgeous hydrangeas, a thirty-foot-tall Kannon figure covered in gold, and a candle-lit underground grotto!












* The famous nine-meter-tall golden Kannon is a sacred object, so photos aren’t allowed. Despite nearly overwhelming temptation, I honored that request (and I hope you will too!) but if you can’t wait to see its golden benevolence with your own eyes, there are quite a few pirate photos of it on the web.
Open: Every day; Mar-Sept 8:00 – 17:00, Oct – Feb 8:00 – 16:30, last entrance 30 minutes before closing time
Admission: ¥300
Hasedera is in Kamakura, my favorite day trip from Tokyo. Here’s more to do in the neighborhood, while you’re there:
Click here for more
•
Know someone who’s planning a trip to Japan? If you think they’d enjoy this temple, share it!
And if you’d like to find fun stuff spicing up your email from time to time, subscribe to The Tokyo Guide I Wish I’d Had, and I’ll send you all the hidden treasures, travel hacks and best of the best, the minute I post them!
It’s easy: Scroll down to the subscribe button, enter your email, and push the button. You can unsubscribe at any time, of course, and I promise: no ads and no sharing of your information EVER.