Tokyo Metropole & Greater Kanto · Kamakura

Kamakura and Enoshima: the Great Buddha, the hydrangea temple and the coastal train

An hour from Tokyo to the 12th-century samurai capital: a bronze Buddha in the open air, a temple with caves and a sea view, a shopping street, and in the afternoon a green electric train along the coast to an island with a lighthouse and caves.

A day trip from Tokyo to Kamakura, the shoguns' capital from the 12th century, and to the island of Enoshima. You start at the great shrine, Tsurugaoka Hachimangu, take a bus to the bamboo grove of Hokoku-ji, and come back for a shirasu lunch on Komachi Street. In the afternoon you board the Enoden, the green electric train, and get off it three times: the Great Buddha and Hase-dera, the Slam Dunk railway crossing on the coast, and finally Enoshima until evening. About 5 km on foot, plus the island's steps. The three Enoden rides cost ¥200, ¥220 and ¥200, so ¥620 in single tickets, and the 'Noriorikun' day pass costs ¥800. The discounts it gives on the island are ¥50 at the lighthouse, ¥50 at the caves and ¥40 on the escalators, and that is still less than the difference. On this day, which returns from Enoshima on the Odakyu, the day pass does not pay off.

Verified online, September 20269 stops · 08:30 to 20:00¥7,740 · ≈ $49 per personWalking between stops: 72 min · Transport: ¥1,100Day trip from TokyoGood with kidsShabbat-friendly (all on foot and a short train)Shabbat-friendly

The day on a map

8 stops, in order

Stops: 8
Walking minutes: 18

Stop number on the timelineWalkingTrain, metro or busBase map: © OpenStreetMap

Open this day in Google Maps

The same stops with the same numbers, and the way from stop to stop. On a phone it opens in the app, and that is what you navigate with in Japan. Pin names on the map are in Hebrew.

On Shabbat: Works if you sleep in Kamakura: Hachimangu is free, Komachi Street, the Great Buddha (¥300, visible from the gate) and Yuigahama beach, all on foot. Enoshima needs a train, save it for another day.

Getting there: From Tokyo Station: JR Yokosuka Line direct to Kamakura, 57 minutes, ¥1,040. On the same line from Shinagawa: 48 minutes, ¥810. From Shinjuku: JR, about an hour, ¥1,040, usually with one change to the Yokosuka Line. These are the fares after JR East's fare increase on 14 March 2026.

08:3009:30
TrainMust
Yokosuka Line to Kamakura
You start on the train to Kamakura, and you leave early: on weekends Kamakura is the day trip of all of Tokyo. The station has two exits: the east one for Komachi Street and the shrine, the west one for the Enoden.
¥1,040 · ≈ $7Open in Maps
Up to the great shrine
- Walk · 10 minFrom the east exit, cross to the wide avenue, Wakamiya-oji, and walk north under the torii gates to the shrine's steps, about 800 meters.
On the way you can stop at:
Dankazura: A raised path of about 450 meters in the middle of the avenue, between the second and third gates, which Minamoto no Yoritomo built in 1182 as a prayer for his wife's safe childbirth. From late March to mid-April the cherry trees along it bloom.
09:4010:30
Stop 1Shinto shrineRecommended
Tsurugaoka Hachimangu: the shrine of the shoguns
Kamakura's main shrine, at the end of an avenue with torii gates. Wide steps, lotus ponds, and a giant ginkgo that fell in a storm in 2010 and started growing again. Entry is free, and on weekends there are weddings here.
FreeOpen in Maps
Ride to the bamboo grove
- Bus · 12 min · ¥240Walk down from the shrine to the 'Hachimangu' bus stop, and take a Keikyu bus, route 23, 24 or 36, to the Jomyoji stop, 4 stops, 6 minutes. From there it is a 3-minute walk to the temple.
- or: Walk · 21 minAbout 1.7 km east along the main road, through a residential neighborhood, and on the way you pass Sugimoto-dera.
On the way you can stop at:
Sugimoto-dera: By tradition founded in 734, it is the oldest temple in Kamakura: moss-covered stone steps and a hall with a thatched roof. ¥300, and the 'Sugimoto Kannon' bus stop is right next to it, one stop before Jomyoji.
10:4511:45
Stop 2Temple and gardenRecommended
Hokoku-ji: the bamboo temple with matcha in the grove
A small, quiet bamboo grove, the modest version of Arashiyama, with a tea house inside: matcha and a sweet, sipped among the stalks.
¥1,000 · ≈ $6Open in Maps
Back to Komachi for lunch
- Bus · 20 min · ¥240Walk 3 minutes to the Jomyoji stop, and take a Keikyu bus, route 23, 24 or 36, to the east exit of Kamakura Station, 6 stops, 9 minutes. Komachi Street starts next to the station.
- or: Walk · 26 minAbout 2.1 km back the same way to the great shrine, and enter Komachi Street from its northern end.
12:0013:00
Stop 3LunchRecommended
Lunch break on Komachi Street
The local dish is shirasu, tiny white fish over rice, raw or cooked. Fresh fishing is banned from January to March, and then there is only cooked. Komachi Street is full of places, and also crepes, sweet potato ice cream and senbei, and you pass through it again on the way to the station. Pick one:
- Wasai Yakura, Komachi Street
  A restaurant for shirasu and local fish, with shirasu from Koshigoe. Open daily, 11:00 to 21:00, last order at 20:00. About 5 minutes on foot from the station.
- Raku-en¥990
  Cooked or raw shirasu over rice, and Shonan pork in miso, on the second floor, 3 to 4 minutes along Komachi Street from the east exit. At lunch a dish is ¥990. Open 11:00 to 22:00, and closed on irregular days.
- Vege SowakaVegan, not kosher¥2,980
  A vegan buffet of Kamakura vegetables, on the second floor in Yukinoshita, a few minutes from the station. A set of the buffet and a main dish is ¥2,980. Lunch 10:00 to 14:30 (last order), closed on Wednesdays.
- Kosher or vegan? Every kosher and vegan place in this city
¥1,800 · ≈ $11Open in Maps
Ride to the Great Buddha
- Train · 15 min · ¥200Cross to the west side of Kamakura Station, to the Enoden platform. Enoden toward Fujisawa to Hase Station, 3 stations, 4 minutes, and from there a 7-minute walk to the Buddha.
13:1514:00
Stop 4AttractionMust
The Great Buddha of Kamakura
A 13-meter bronze Buddha, sitting outdoors since a tsunami swept away its hall in 1498. For ¥50 you go inside it. If you come with children, you will see them climbing the statue's robe with their eyes.
¥300 · ≈ $2Open in Maps
Walk to Hase-dera
- Walk · 8 minGo out through the gate and walk down the main street south, toward the sea, then turn right onto the short street that leads to the gate of Hase-dera, on the hillside.
14:1015:15
Stop 5TempleMust
Hase-dera: caves, a thousand small statues and a sea view
A temple on the hillside: a 9-meter gilded wooden Kannon statue, a dark cave with statues in the rock, a thousand small Jizo statues for unborn children, and a terrace with a view over Sagami Bay. In June the hydrangeas cover the hill, and numbered tickets are handed out for the line.
¥400 · ≈ $3Open in Maps
Ride the Enoden to the coast
- Train · 25 min · ¥220Walk down 6 minutes to Hase Station, and ride the Enoden toward Fujisawa to Kamakurakokomae, 4 stations, 15 minutes. The train leaves about every 12 minutes.
15:4016:15
Stop 6Scenic trainRecommended
The Enoden along the coast and the Slam Dunk railway crossing
The green tram, running here since 1902, passes between houses, almost touching the yards, and then comes out onto the coast, with Fuji behind. Hop off briefly at Kamakurakokomae: the railway crossing from the Slam Dunk opening, with a line of fans. Cross only when it is allowed, the police stand there.
FreeOpen in Maps
On to Enoshima
- Train · 20 min · ¥200Enoden from Kamakurakokomae to Enoshima Station, 2 stations, 5 minutes. From there about 1.2 km on foot, about 15 minutes, over the bridge to the island's gate.
16:3018:30
Stop 7IslandMust
Enoshima: the steps, the garden, the lighthouse and the caves
A small island connected to the mainland by a bridge. Climb the steps, or the paid escalators, through Enoshima Shrine to the Samuel Cocking Garden and the Sea Candle lighthouse, and from there you see Fuji at sunset. The Iwaya Caves, on the other side of the island (¥500), close at 17:00, and stay open later only in summer and during events, so on this day you usually reach them only in summer. They also close when the waves are high.
¥1,200 · ≈ $8Open in Maps
Down to dinner
- Walk · 10 minFrom the lighthouse, go down the steps, about 600 meters, to the shrine street at the entrance to the island. If you are eating near Katase-Enoshima Station, continue about 12 more minutes, back over the bridge.
18:4520:00
Stop 8DinnerRecommended
Dinner on Enoshima
On the island's shrine street they sell grilled sea snails (sazae), shirasu and crackers. After the meal you head back from Katase-Enoshima Station, the building in the style of a dragon palace: Odakyu to Shinjuku, about 70 minutes, ¥650, in the evening with one change at Fujisawa. No need to go back to Kamakura. Eat on the island or near the station:
- Tobiccho, the main branch on Enoshima¥1,320
  A shirasu shop at the entrance to the island. A bowl of cooked shirasu with miso soup is ¥1,320. Open daily 11:00 to 21:00, last order at 20:00 on weekdays and 20:30 on weekends, and closed when there is a storm.
- iL CHIANTI BEACHE
  An Italian restaurant right on the beach, a minute on foot from Katase-Enoshima Station, with shirasu dishes on the menu too. Open daily 11:00 to 22:30, last order at 21:30.
- Kosher or vegan? Every kosher and vegan place in this city
¥2,000 · ≈ $13Open in Maps

Kamakura and Enoshima: the Great Buddha, the hydrangea temple and the coastal train

8 stops, in order

Yokosuka Line to Kamakura

Tsurugaoka Hachimangu: the shrine of the shoguns

Hokoku-ji: the bamboo temple with matcha in the grove

Lunch break on Komachi Street

The Great Buddha of Kamakura

Hase-dera: caves, a thousand small statues and a sea view

The Enoden along the coast and the Slam Dunk railway crossing

Enoshima: the steps, the garden, the lighthouse and the caves

Dinner on Enoshima

Day trip to Kamakura and Enoshima: the Great Buddha, Hase-dera, the tram and the caves

Yokohama: Japan's largest Chinatown, the Cup Noodles Museum and the harbor at sunset

Fuji from Kawaguchiko: Chureito Pagoda, the ropeway, the boat to Oishi Park and hoto noodles

Hakone: the ropeway loop, sulfur eggs, Lake Ashi and an onsen

Azabudai Hills, teamLab Borderless, Tokyo Tower and Roppongi

Shinjuku: a free observatory, Gyoen garden, Omoide Yokocho and Golden Gai