Kamakura is a small city with rich history and beautiful ocean. Since the town is located an-hour southwest from Tokyo downtown, Kamakura is a very popular tourists’ destination as well as bedroom suburb of Tokyo. Marine sports lovers enjoy surfing, sailing, windsurfing, etc. on weekends commuting into Tokyo on weekdays. Kamakura was chosen as the political center of Japan in the late12th century by the first Shogun in our history. Until the military government established by the Shogun ended in 1333, Samurai had developed their own cultures away from Kyoto where the Emperor and nobles had been enjoying their sophisticated cultures.

Today you can catch a glimpse of the Samurai culture through Zen temples in Kamakura area. Highlights of Kamakura are a variety of Buddhist temples, seasonal flowers and beautiful ocean view. I would love to show you my favorite parts of Kamakura!

Here is a sample itinerary of One-day Kamakura Trip:

9:00am Meet you in the lobby of your hotel

10:45am Kotokuin temple (Great Buddha’s statue in open air)

11:30am Hase temple (a department store of Buddhism?) 

12:30pm Lunch 

2:00pm Hachimangu shrine (family shrine of the first Shogun in Japan)

3:00pm Komachi shopping street

3:30pm Leave Kamakura

Having Matcha, powdered green tea, in a beautiful bamboo grove at Hokokuji temple is also a good idea. If you are interested in Zen temples, we can visit a few Zen temples in Kita-kamakura area.