Kamakura day trip: Weird, wild & wonderful shrines and temples
Kotoku-in Temple (Giant Buddha): Open every day, 8:00 – 17:30
Hasedera Temple: Open every day, 8:00 – 17:00
Sasuke Inari Jinja (Fox Shrine): Open 24 hours
Zeni-arai Benten Jinja (Money-washing Shrine): Open every day, 8:00 – 16:30
Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gu Shrine: Open every day, 6:00 – 20:30
Kamakura-gu (Dish-breaking Shrine): Open every day, 9:00 – 16:30
Hokoku-ji (Bamboo Temple): Open every day, 9:00 – 16:00
Myoho-ji (Moss steps): Only open Sat & Sun, 9:30 – 16:30
Meigetsu-in Temple: Open every day, 9:00 – 16:00
Tokei-ji (Divorce Temple): Open every day, 9:00 – 16:00
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Here’s what to see and why you might want to see it…
Before exploring the area around Kamakura Station, take a short ride from there to Hase Station on the Enoden Line to see two of the most popular temples in Kamakura before they get too crowded.
Near Hase Station
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The Daibutsu (biggest bronze Buddha in Japan)
It would be wrong to come to Kamakura and not see the biggest bronze Buddha in Japan, the Daibutsu at Kotoku-in Temple. It is fabulous and serene, and if you want to get some idea of how big it is, check out those little tourists by the base!
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Hasedera Temple
Next, let’s visit the home of an eye-popping three-story-tall gold Kannon figure (also the biggest in Japan, and too sacred for photos to be allowed) but it also has a ton of other see-worthy sights.
There’s an awesome cave you can go inside…
..that’s a shrine to Benten, goddess of music & literature, wealth and women.
There’s a powerful giant prayer wheel can be taken for a spin on special holidays…
…and there are thousands of Jizo figures to admire, hiding all over the grounds.
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Next, check out the excellent shrines and temples near
Kamakura Station
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Sasuke Inari Jinja (Fox Shrine)
Climb through this tunnel of orange torii gates and at the top, we’ll find ourselves in another world, where fox figures reign supreme.
Thousands of foxes represent the hopes and dreams of those who have visited this renowned power spot..
…gathering into mossy, miniature villages along the trail that loops up into the forest behind…
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Zeni-arai Benten (Money-Washing) Shrine
This tunnel cut through the living rock leads to a grotto like something straight out of Totoro.
A sacred ferny enclave with gushing waterfalls, where legend has it that if you wash your money in the sacred stream…
it will double within the year!
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On the other side of the station…
Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gu Shrine
This is a grand shrine built by one of Japan’s most powerful shōguns after his Minamoto clan bested their arch-enemy, the Tairas. Their legendary rivalry is represented by a vast lotus pond split by a red bridge. On one side, the lotus bloom red to represent the Taira, on the other, they bloom white, to represent the Minamotos.
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Kamakura-gu (The Dish-Breaking Shrine)
If you got some evil influences or annoying people to banish from your life, this is the shrine for you! All you have to do is drop your coins in the slot, choose a dish, make your wish and throw it against one of the handy sacred rocks you see there just beyond. If it breaks, you’re free!
Also, who doesn’t need one of these adorable dragon clackers to take home for all their demon-chasing needs? If you’re looking for something your friends back home will cherish forever, this is it.
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Hokoku-ji (Bamboo Temple)
If you only go to one temple in Kamakura, this should be it. Their bamboo forest amazing, but there’s so much more to see besides!
The entry is a stunning walk through a moss-covered garden…
And when you stop to buy an entry ticket at the window behind the big bronze bell, you can also buy a ticket to try a bowl of matcha and tea ceremony sweets
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Myohō-ji Temple (Moss Steps)
If it hasn’t rained within the past few weeks, the moss doesn’t look great and it’s not worth the trip. But if it’s been wet, these long stone stairs are truly only-in-Japan sublime!
Now let’s move on to
Kita-kamakura Station
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Meigetsu-in (Secret Garden Temple)
This temple is known for its famous entrance steps, but in the fall, the secret garden might be open! You can catch a glimpse of it through this lovely hall…
…and buy tickets to see it at the window off to the left. It’s well worth a look if it’s open!
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Tokei-ji (Divorce Temple)
This temple isn’t visually so special, but it’s super interesting because it offered one of the few ways a woman could get divorced from an abusive husband in the Edo era.
If she could manage to get inside the gate and live there with the nuns for three years without setting foot outside the walls, she was considered legally divorced.
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And if quirky is your thing and you’d like to stay in Tokyo, check out The Eleven Strangest Shrines in Tokyo, including this one in Akihabara, where anime & manga artists go to pray for success:
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Back to:
Navigation buttons to the other “7 Perfect Days”
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If you’d like to browse all the gardens or shrines or individual neighborhoods in Tokyo, links are on The Tokyo Guide I Wish I’d Had
If you’d like info on seasonal secrets and beyond Tokyo destinations, subscribe to my monthly e-magazine Japanagram (it’s free!)
and if you’d like to discover super quirky things to do, do a search at Only In Japan
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Jonelle Patrick writes novels set in Japan, produces the monthly e-magazine Japanagram, and blogs at Only In Japan and The Tokyo Guide I Wish I’d Had
Jonelle Patrick writes about Japan 