Kanagawa

Travel Guide

• Five Statues On and Around Enoshima

  

  2022.05.06

• Yokoyama Observatory: Walking Trails with Spectacular Views

  

  2022.05.03

• Traditional Bean Throwing Event “Setsubun”

  

  2022.01.21

• Divine Hospitality and Luxurious Stay at Hoshino Resort

  

  2021.11.29

• 8 Best Places to See Fall Foliage in Yokohama

  

  2021.10.19

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• Festivals

  

  • Shonan Hiratsuka Tanabata Festival
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  • Tsurugaoka Hachimangu

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  • Yugawara Onsen Sea Fireworks Show

Top Things to do

• Kotoku-in Temple (Kamakura Daibutsu)

  4.5

  3032 Reviews

  Kanagawa Pref. Kamakurashi Hase 4-2-28

  A Pure Land Buddhist temple founded by the great priest Honen. The 11.3 meter tall, 121 ton giant copper Buddha statue known as the Kamakura Daibutsu, a National Treasure, is the temple’s principal object of worship and depicts a seated Amitabha. The original daibutsu was made of wood and was destroyed by a typhoon. The copper form of the current statue first began to be cast in 1252. This figure, too, was damaged by typhoons and earthquakes but was repaired each time, leading to its current excellent condition. The interior of the statue can be viewed and from here visitors can see evidence of the repairs that have been made.

• Enoshima

  4.5

  1093 Reviews

  Kanagawa Pref. Fujisawashi Enoshima

  Enoshima is a tied island connected to the mainland via a sandbar. Known for its picturesque scenery since ancient times, the island is also home to Enoshima-jinja Shrine and numerous other historic Shinto shrines. Sightseeing spots have continued to accrue on the island over time, including the Samuel Cocking Garden as well as a stone monument dedicated to the 1964 Olympics. The Enoshima Sea Candle lighthouse, which is lit up beautifully at night, is a more recent addition. In times past and today, Enoshima remains a popular tourist destination visited by countless travelers.

• Hasedera Temple

  4.5

  1716 Reviews

  Kanagawa Pref. Kamakurashi Hase 3-11-2

  Hasedera Temple is located around five minutes’ walk from Hase Station on the Enoden Line. Besides the Kannon Hall, which houses an impressive statue of Kannon (the Goddess of Mercy) with eleven heads, the temple complex also includes six other main buildings, including the Amida-do, Taikoku-do, and Benten-do buildings. Hasedera Temple is situated in one of the most scenic parts of Kamakura, and there is an observation platform with spectacular views of Kamakura’s streets and coastline. With beautiful trees and flowers that change with the seasons, the Hasedera Temple has been called “Kamakura’s Western Paradise,” and is affectionately known as the “temple of flowers.”

• Tsurugaoka Hachimangu

  4.0

  1597 Reviews

  Kanagawa Pref. Kamakurashi Yukinoshita 2-1-31

  Tsurugaoka Hachimangu was called the guardian deity of the samurai of Kamakura. The story of the shrine began when Minamoto no Yoriyoshi transferred the division of the kami (deity) from Iwashimizu Hachimangu in Kyoto, where he prayed for good fortune in warfare, to Yuigahama and re-enshrined Hachiman kami as the clan deity of the Minamoto clan after the Oshu region was pacified. Later, when Minamoto no Yoritomo entered Kamakura under the banner of reviving the Minamoto clan, the shrine was moved to its current location, and was later reorganized into two shrines, the upper and lower shrines, befitting the Kamakura shogunate's sosha (headquarters). The shrine is still popular today as a shrine associated with the samurai Genji clan and Minamoto no Yoritomo, and is sometimes counted as one of the three major Hachiman shrines. Yabusame (traditional horseback archery) ritual is held every year in spring and fall, performed by the samurai archer dressed in traditional hunting costumes from the Kamakura period. It is spectacular.

• Enoshima Aquarium

  4.0

  655 Reviews

  Kanagawa Pref. Fujisawashi Katasekaigan 2-19-1

  Nicknamed the “Enosui” by locals, this aquarium is located inside Shonan Kaigan Park. The aquarium’s beautiful exhibits, designed to evoke a wondrous undersea world, are quite popular. The spherical “Jellyfish Planet” aquarium houses 14 varieties of jellyfish lit up with beautiful lighting. Once every hour, the world’s first 3D projection mapped jellyfish show is held throughout the entire floor. Enoshima Aquarium is filled with entertainment. A school of some 8,000 Japanese sardines can be seen swimming in a giant aquarium replicating the environment of Sagami Bay. An edutainment facility, another exhibit at the aquarium maps ocean currents and presents the various sea life which visits the area seasonally.

• Yokohama Chinatown

  Kanagawa Pref. Yokohamashi Naka-ku Yamashitachou

  This is Japan’s largest Chinatown in Naka Ward, Yokohama City, where more than 500 shops are lined up. This area is always bustling with local people and tourists seeking authentic Chinese cuisine and culture. The Chinese New Year and especially the parade and the lion dance are events which are representative of Yokohama’s tourism. In all directions into Chinatown, there are gates with guardian deities enshrined in each of these gates: there is the Choyo-mon gate in the east, the Suzaku-mon gate in the south, the Enpei-mon gate in the west and the Genbu-mon gate in the north. The Suzaku-mon gate is convenient for coming from and going to Yokohama Motomachi.

• Hōkokuji Temple

  4.5

  702 Reviews

  Kanagawa Pref. Kamakurashi Joumyouji 2-7-4

  The Hōkokuji Temple (famous in Japan as the “Bamboo Temple”) was founded in 1334 on the orders of Ashikaga Ietoki, the grandfather of Ashikaga Takauji (the first Shogun of the Ashikaga Shogunate). Visitors can drink tea in the Kyuko-an teahouse while viewing the bamboo grove. The writing table that the literary giant Kawabata Yasunari used while writing “The Sound of the Mountain” is preserved in the Hon-do (Main Hall). Zazen meditation sessions are held in the Kasho-do hall on Sundays; beginners are welcome.

• Kenchoji Temple

  4.5

  532 Reviews

  Kanagawa Pref. Kamakurashi Yamanouchi 8

  A 15 minute walk from Kita-Kamakura Station. This celebrated Buddhist temple, the head temple of Rinzai Kenchoji Buddhism, is the first of the “Kamakura Gozan” (Five Mountain Temples of Kamakura) and was also Japan’s first Zen Buddhist temple. The temple was founded by Hojo Tokiyori, the fifth shogun of the Kamakura shogunate, and the monk Lanxi Daolong. The highlight of the temple is its garden, which was designated a national Place of Scenic Beauty and Historic Site in 1932. The ancient Chinese junipers growing in front of the temple and the garden pond behind the abbot’s chamber are particularly famous for their beauty. The temple also periodically holds sutra copying and zazen meditation sessions which enable average people to experience Zen training.

• Zeniarai Benzaiten Ugafuku Shrine

  4.0

  436 Reviews

  Kanagawa Pref. Kamakurashi Sasuke 2-25-16

  Popularly known as “Zeniarai Benzaiten,” the Zeniarai Benzaiten Ugafuku Shrine is located in the Sasuke district of Kamakura City. According to legend, the shrine was founded when, in the evening of the Day of the Snake in the Month of the Snake in 1185, Minamoto no Yoritomo was told in a dream that “If you pray to the Shinto deities and to the Buddha at this spring, peace will come to the land.” Subsequently, after the local ruler Hojo Tokiyori washed coins in the spring while praying for the prosperity of his clan, the belief spread that washing coins in the spring inside the cave would cause that money to increase. This practice is believed to be particularly effective if performed on the day of the temple festival dedicated to the goddess Benten, so the Shrine is usually thronged with worshippers on that day. The spring at the Zeniarai Benzaiten Ugafuku Shrine is classed as one of the “Five Famous Springs of Kamakura.”