The Soul Journals

Kamakura is a small coastal town 50 km away from Tokyo & was the center of power in the 12th century.It was here, the military order that would later be known among western scholars as the ‘Shogunate’ was first established. So, you really could call it the birthplace of the Samurai.

There are a lot of temples, shrines, coastline & cafes to be to visited at Kamakura. I would say a whole day is enough to explore kamakura, travelling from Tokyo as it takes around 50-90 mins depending upon the train you take. We took the odakyu line from Shinjuku which took 60 min to fujisawa then we boarded the Enoden line to hase station which was our destination station. I really enjoyed riding the Enoden electric train which passes through the small streets of the villages which was unusual for me.

1.Hasedera Temple-  

Hasedera temple is at a five minute walk from the Hase station & was my personal favorite among all the other places I visited in Kamakura. This temple is built on a beautiful hill featuring peaceful garden and a small museum.

There are deep, narrow caves built dedicating the goddess Benzaiten.

There is a huge number of small jizo statues while climbing up the temple. These were donated by parents to mourn offspring lost to miscarriage, stillbirth and abortion. These statues are removed after a year to make room for new ones. I got to know about this fact latter & felt little sad about it.

I must say that Hasedera temple is worth your time and money (admission fee 300 yen). There are beautiful serene gardens where you can meditate for a while or just relax.

2.Great Buddha Of Kamakura (Kotoku-in Temple)

Kotoku-in temple is ten min walk from hase station & 5 mins from Hasedera temple. Kamakura Daibutsu (Great Buddha)a 11.4 meter (37 ft), 121 ton bronze statue of the Buddha, constructed in 1252 at the height of Hojo power. It is the second tallest bronze temple in japan after Nara’s Todaiji’s temple. It was densely crowded by tourist so taking a complete picture without someone photobombing was near to impossible that day.

We went inside the Daibutsu paying 20 yen each (apart from admission fee of 200yen) but the view was not that amazing but one should go inside to see the thousand years of graffiti which makes easier to understand the way it was constructed.  

Read more about the daibutsu temple here –https://www.annees-de-pelerinage.com/great-buddha-of-kamakura-at-kotoku-in/

3.Yuigahama Beach-

We stopped in this island after our visit to Daibutsu & Hasedera temple. The beach is small & right on the street.Sunset was beautiful there but the beach was not as clean as the other places in Japan is. The sand is not white and the water is not clear but warm though. It was relaxing for us as we walked quite a lot till now & its time to give some rest to our feet. Mostly people are there to surf or swim as the tides are gentle and gradient.