Kamakura Day Trip from Tokyo: A Complete Guide
One hour from Tokyo, Kamakura feels like a different world. Ancient temples, the scent of incense, the sound of the ocean, and a 13-meter bronze Buddha gazing calmly at the horizon.
It is one of the most popular day trips in Japan, and for good reason. In this guide, I would like to share how to enjoy it well.
Getting There
- From Tokyo Station: JR Yokosuka Line direct to Kamakura, about 55 minutes (¥940)
- From Shinjuku: JR Shonan-Shinjuku Line to Kamakura, about 65 minutes (¥940)
- IC card: Suica and Pasmo work here, so there is no need to buy a separate ticket
If you can, please leave by 8:30am. The main temples are much quieter in the early morning.
A One-Day Itinerary
Morning: The Great Buddha (8:30–10:00)
Start at Kotoku-in Temple and the Kamakura Daibutsu (Great Buddha). It is a 20-minute walk from Kamakura Station, or 10 minutes by bus.
- Entry: ¥300
- For an extra ¥20, you can go inside the statue
- The light is best for photos in the early morning
📍 Open in Google Maps: Kotoku-in
Mid-Morning: Hase-dera Temple (10:00–11:30)
A 10-minute walk from the Great Buddha, Hase-dera is one of the most beautiful temples in Kamakura. There are gardens on several levels, a small cave with votive offerings, and an ocean view that will make you stop for a moment.
- Entry: ¥400
- Please allow 45–60 minutes
📍 Open in Google Maps: Hase-dera
Lunch: Komachi-dori Street (12:00–13:00)
Walk back toward the station along Komachi-dori, Kamakura’s famous shopping street. It is a little touristy, but the food is truly good.
Please try:
- Shirasu don — tiny whitebait fish over rice, a Kamakura specialty (¥1,200–1,800)
- Matcha soft serve — sold everywhere, for ¥400–500
📍 Open in Google Maps: Komachi-dori
Afternoon: Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine (13:00–14:00)
This is the most important shrine in Kamakura. The approach along the lotus pond, lined with stone lanterns, is especially photogenic. The main shrine grounds are free to enter.
From the top of the shrine steps, you can look back along the approach and see the great red torii gate below, with the town of Kamakura stretching toward the sea. It is one of my favorite views of the day.
📍 Open in Google Maps: Tsurugaoka Hachimangu
Late Afternoon: Hokokuji — The Bamboo Temple (14:30–16:00)
This is the temple most visitors miss. Hokokuji has a bamboo grove that can stand beside Arashiyama in Kyoto — and it is usually far less crowded.
- Entry: ¥300 (matcha tea served in the grove is included)
- About 15 minutes from Kamakura Station by taxi or bus
This is one of my favorite places in all of Japan. Please do not miss it.
📍 Open in Google Maps: Hokokuji
Evening: Return to Tokyo
It is best to head back by 17:00, before the rush hour. If you can stay until 18:30, the trains become calm again.
Practical Tips
- Comfortable shoes — there are many stone steps and uneven paths
- Cash — many small shops and temples accept cash only
- Weather — Kamakura is a little warmer than Tokyo in winter, but the paths between temples can be muddy after rain
- Rickshaws — they look fun, but ¥4,000–6,000 for a ten-minute ride is not a great value, in my honest opinion
If You Would Rather Be Taken
The group tour
This guide assumes you will ride the trains yourself. If you would rather have the whole day arranged — with the Enoden ticket included, and Enoshima added on — there are day tours from Tokyo. They cover the Great Buddha and Tsurugaoka Hachimangu, plus the sea view at Kamakurakokomae and Enoshima, neither of which is in this itinerary.
Kamakura Day Trip from Tokyo — Great Buddha, Enoden, Kamakurakokomae, Enoshima, Tsurugaoka Hachimangu
A guide of your own
Joining a set tour and having a guide to yourselves are different things, and which one suits you depends mostly on how many of you there are.
Japan Experience will send a private guide to meet you at your accommodation and stay with you for eight hours. Their guides work in English, French, German, Spanish and Italian, which is worth knowing if English is not your first language either.
Two things to be clear about before you book. The price is for the group, not per person, so it reads very differently for a family of four than for one person travelling alone. And it buys the guide only — train fares, temple entries and lunch are still yours to pay, which is the ¥4,580–5,980 in the budget table below. Cancellation is free up to seven days ahead.
Kamakura Discovery — a private guide for the day, 8 hours, from €265 per group
See the private Kamakura guide on Japan Experience →Budget
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Train (round trip) | ¥1,880 |
| Temple entries | ¥1,000–1,500 |
| Lunch | ¥1,200–1,800 |
| Snacks | ¥500–800 |
| Total | ¥4,580–5,980 |
Where to Stay
Kamakura is best enjoyed as a day trip from central Tokyo. If you stay near a major JR line (Shinjuku, Shibuya, or Tokyo Station), the journey becomes very easy.
Affiliate note: This post contains Klook and Japan Experience affiliate links, and booking links in this post may earn us a small commission.