Things to do in South Of Tokyo
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Daibutsu Hiking Course
This 3km wooded trail connects Kita- Kamakura with the Daibutsu in Hase (allow about 1½ hours). The path begins at the steps just up the lane from pretty Jōchi-ji, a few minutes from Tōkei-ji. Along the course you'll pass Zeniarai-benten, one of Kamakura's most alluring Shintō shrines. A cave-like entrance leads to a clearing where visitors come to bathe their money in natural springs, with the hope of bringing financial success. From here, continue down the paved road, turning right at the first intersection, walking along a path lined with cryptomeria and ascending through a succession of torii to Sasuke-inari-jinja before meeting up with the Daibutsu path once agai…
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Kamakura Daibutsu
The Kamakura Daibutsu is at Kōtoku-in temple. Completed in 1252, it is Japan's second-largest Buddha image and Kamakura's most famous sight. It was once housed in a huge hall, today the statue sits in the open, the hall having been washed away by a tsunami in 1495. Cast in bronze and weighing close to 850 tonnes, the statue is 11.4m tall.
Its construction is said to have been inspired by Yoritomo's visit to Nara (where Japan's biggest Daibutsu holds court) after the Minamoto clan's victory over the rival Taira clan. Even though Kamakura's Daibutsu doesn't quite match Nara's in stature, it is commonly agreed that it is artistically superior.
The Buddha itself is the Amida …
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Yamashita-kōen area
Moored alongside a seaside park in the Yamashita-kōen area you'll find the Hikawa Maru (641-4362; adult/child ¥800/400; ;09:30-18:00 conditions permitting), a retired luxury 1930 passenger liner (one of the staterooms was used by Charlie Chaplin).
IAcross the street from the Hikawa Maru, the Silk Museum (641-0841; 1 Yamashita-kōen-dōri; adult/child/student/senior ¥500/100/200/300; ;09:00-16:30 Tue-Sun) pays tribute to Yokohama's history as a silk trading port. Nearby, Yokohama Archives of History (201-2100; 3 Nihon Ōdōri; adult/child ¥200/100; ;09:30-17:00 Tue-Sun) chronicles the city (displays in English) from the opening of Japan to the mid-20th century; it's inside t…
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Snack Stalls
Snackers will love Komachi-dōri. Kamakura Ichibanya (22-6156; Komachi-dōri) specialises in sembei (rice crackers); watch staff grilling them in the window or buy some 100 packaged varieties including curry, garlic, mentaiko (spicy cod roe) or uni (sea urchin).
Imo no Kichikan (25-6038) is famous for soft-serve sweet-potato ice cream (look for the giant plastic cone with lavender-hued ice cream), while Toshimaya (25-0505) sells Kamakura's omiyage (souvenir) of record, hato sabure, large butter cookies in the shape of a dove (¥84 each or from ¥451 for five). For picnic foods for hiking or beaching, Kinokuniya (25-1911; ;09:30-20:00) is a ritzy supermarket out Kamakura st…
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Daibutsu
Kamakura's most iconic sight, an 11.4m bronze statue of Amida Buddha (amitābha in Sanskrit), is in Kōtoku-in, a Jōdo sect temple. Completed in 1252, it's said to have been inspired by Yoritomo's visit to Nara (where Japan's biggest Daibutsu holds court) after the Minamoto clan's victory over the Taira clan. Once housed in a huge hall, today the statue sits in the open, the hall having been washed away by a tsunami in 1495. For an extra ¥20, you can duck inside to see how the sculptors pieced the 850-tonne statue together.
Buses from stops 1 and 6 in front of Kamakura Station run to the Daibutsu-mae stop. Alternatively, take the Enoden Enoshima line to Hase Station and …
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Hase-dera
About 10 minutes' walk from the Daibutsu, Hase-dera (Jōdo sect) is one of the most popular temples in the Kantō region. The focal point of the temple's main hall is a 9m-high carved wooden jūichimen (11-faced) Kannon statue. Kannon (avalokiteshvara in Sanskrit) is the bodhisattva of infinite compassion and, along with Jizō, is one of Japan's most popular Buddhist deities. According to legend, the temple dates back to AD 736, when the statue is said to have washed up on the shore near Kamakura.
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Motomachi & Yamate
This area south of Yamashita-kōen (;Motomachi-Chukagai, Ishikawa-chō) combines the gentle intimacy of Motomachi's shopping street with early 20th century Western-style architecture and fantastic views from the brick sidewalks of Yamate-hon-dōri ('Bluff Street'). Private homes and churches here are still in use. Attractions include Harbour View Park and the Foreigners' Cemetery, final resting place of 4000 foreign residents and visitors - the headstones carry some fascinating inscriptions.
A stroll from near Yamashita-kōen to Ishikawa-chō station should take about one hour.
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Minato Mirai 21
This district of man-made islands used to be shipping docks, but the last two decades have transformed them into a metropolis-of-the-future ('Minato Mirai' means 'port future'), with a buzzing street scene by day and glowing towers by night (Landmark tower and the three-towered Queens Square). In addition to the attractions listed here, there's one of the world's largest convention complexes, several hotels, and lots of shopping and dining.
These sights are arranged as a possible walking tour.
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Ennō-Ji
Ennō-ji is distinguished by its statues depicting the judges of hell. According to the Juo concept of Taoism, which was introduced to Japan from China during the Heian period (794–1185), these 10 judges decide the fate of souls, who, being neither truly good nor truly evil, must be assigned to spend eternity in either heaven or hell. Presiding over them is Emma (Yama), a Hindu deity known as the gruesome king of the infernal regions.
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Sugimoto-dera
This small temple, founded in AD 734, is reputed to be the oldest in Kamakura. The ferocious-looking guardian deities and statues of Kannon are its main draw. Take a bus from stop 5 at Kamakura Station to the Sugimoto Kannon bus stop (¥190, 10 minutes).
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Egaraten-Jinja
Students come to Egaraten-jinja to pray for academic success. Like other Tenjin shrines, Egara is dedicated to the memory of Michizane Sugawara, a Kyoto scholar of noble birth who was born in the middle of the 9th century. Students write their aspirations on ema (small votive plaques), which are then hung to the right of the shrine. Buses taken from stop 6 in front of Kamakura Station run out to Egara Tenjinja; get off at Tenjin-mae.
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Chinatown
Always wanted to go to China? Yokohama's Chinatown has the sights, sounds, aromas of Hong Kong without the airfare, rivalling Minato Mirai in popularity. Within its 10 elaborately painted gates are all manner of Chinese specialty stores and some 500 food shops and (often expensive) restaurants and enchanting neon displays at night. Chinatown's heart is the Chinese temple Kantei-byō (admission free;;10:00-20:00), dedicated to Kanwu, the god of business.
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Shopping Centres
In Minato Mirai, Yokohama World Porters is a huge shopping complex with lots of restaurants on the ground floor including Vivre, possibly the world's cleanest supermarket. Landmark Tower and Queens Square are similarly filled with shopping and dining, and Akarenga Sōkō with craft, antique and specialty shops. There are often street performances throughout Minato Mirai. The more intimate shopping strip of Motomachi is lined with lovely boutiques.
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Jōchi-Ji
Founded in 1283 by Hojo Morotoki, Jōchi-ji is the fourth of Kamakura’s five great Zen temples. The main gate’s bell on the 2nd floor of the belltower was cast in 1340. Nearby is Kanro-no-ni, one of Kamakura’s 10 revered wells. The interest in this muddy little pond, whose name translates to ‘Sweet Water’, is mostly historical, but photographers still swarm its edges looking for the perfect shot.
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Shin-Yokohama Rāmen Hakubutskan
In 1994, Shin-Yokohama Rāmen Hakubutskan opened, inaugurating the age of the food theme park throughout Japan. This museum of rāmen continues to show the history and culture of these Chinese-style noodles about which it's fair to say Japan is bonkers. Downstairs, nine rāmen restaurants from around the country were hand-picked to sell their wares in a replica of a 1958 Shitamachi (downtown district).
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Manyō Club hot spring facility
The fact that there is no onsen in Yokohama (that we know of) doesn't matter. This new hot spring facility trucks in water daily from Atami and gives you five storeys' worth of ways to enjoy them: pool to pool, sauna to sauna in your custom yukata. Spa treatments are available (extra charge), and 'relax rooms' have hundreds of TVs in front of hundreds of comfy chairs. Check-in is on the 7th floor.
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Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū
Kamakura's most important shrine is, naturally, dedicated to Hachiman, the god of war. Minamoto Yoritomo himself ordered its construction in 1191 and designed the pine-flanked central promenade that leads to the coast. The sprawling grounds are ripe with historical symbolism: the Gempei Pond, bisected by bridges, is said to depict the rift between the Minamoto (Genji) and Taira (Heike) clans. Behind the pond is the Kamakura Museum, housing remarkable Buddhist sculptures from the 12th to 16th centuries.
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Sankei-en
Opened to the public in 1906, the beautifully landscaped gardens of Sankei-en feature walking paths among ponds, 17th-century buildings, several fine tea-ceremony houses and a 500-year-old, three-storey pagoda. The inner garden is a fine example of traditional Japanese garden landscaping. From Yokohama or Sakuragi-chō Station, take the No 8 bus to Honmoku Sankei-en-mae bus stop (10 minutes).
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Japan Overseas Migration Museum
Yokohama has long welcomed the world, but this fine museum looks at Japanese who went overseas. Agricultural labourers, fishermen and performers later became merchants, doctors and priests in the USA, Brazil and more. It's a must for anyone of Japanese heritage, with signage in English. It's inside the offices of the charitable organisation Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
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Tōkei-ji
Across the railway tracks from Engaku-ji, Tōkei-ji is famed as having served as a women's refuge. A woman could be officially recognised as divorced after three years as a nun in the temple precincts. Today, there are no nuns; the grave of the last abbess can be found in the cemetery, shrouded by cypress trees.
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Kenchō-ji
Established in 1253, Kencho-ji is Japan's oldest Zen monastery and is still active today. It once comprised seven buildings and 49 subtemples, most of which were destroyed in the fires of the 14th and 15th centuries. However, the 17th and 18th centuries saw its restoration, and you can still get a sense of its splendour. The central Butsuden (Buddha hall) was brought piece by piece from Tokyo in 1647. Its Jizō Bosatsu statue, unusual for a Zen temple, reflects the valley's ancient function as an execution ground – Jizō consoles lost souls. Other highlights include a bell cast in 1253 and the juniper grove, believed to have sprouted from seeds brought from China by Kenchō-…
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Ten-en Hiking Course
From Zuisen-ji you can access this trail, which winds through the hills for two hours before coming out at Kenchō-ji. From Kenchō-ji, walk around the Hojo (Main Hall) and up the steps to the trail.
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Kawagoe-ya
Cosy and country-style, specializing in a range of Japanese foods like soba and donburi (rice with assorted toppings). The mini-maguro-don set (¥1365) comes with soba and more. It's outside Kamakura Station's east exit, in the basement below McDonald's. Picture menu and plastic models available.
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Yamate Jyuban-kan
Overlooking the Foreigners' Cemetery in Yamate, this French restaurant serves consistently good cuisine in a building like a mansion from the American south. A casual café occupies the 1st floor, while upstairs is the classic restaurant, dishing out longstanding favourites like the Kaika steak set. Reservations recommended.
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Hōkoku-ji
Down the road from Sugimoto-dera, on the right-hand side, is this Rinzai Zen temple with quiet, landscaped gardens where you can relax under a red parasol with a cup of Japanese tea.
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