Kanagawa Prefecture

Kamakura

Do
Tokyo
Step into the tropics inside a greenhouse
On a rainy or cold day, a greenhouse lets you walk among huge tropical leaves and flowers in warm, humid air. Around Tokyo there are glasshouses at botanical gardens, at a university garden and even at a butterfly house. Many of them are closed on Mondays, so check the day before you go.
Do
Step inside a giant Buddha
Many of Japan's giant Buddhas and statues of Kannon, the Buddhist goddess of mercy, are hollow, and at these you can walk inside. Enter through a door in the back or at the feet, then climb past Buddhist images and exhibits; in the tallest ones, windows near the top look out over the landscape. All of them are day trips from Tokyo.
Do
Wait for fireflies to glow over water at dusk
For a few weeks from late May into June, fireflies come out after sunset and drift as soft yellow-green lights over ponds and streams. Walk slowly along the water in a garden or at a shrine and wait for them to appear. The dates shift each year with the weather, so check before you plan, and keep flash and phone screens off so you do not disturb them.
Do
Walk temple slopes full of June hydrangeas
In June, during tsuyu, Japan's early-summer rainy season, hydrangeas bloom blue and purple across the grounds of Buddhist temples. Walk the paths and stairs among the flowers, whose colors look deepest in the rain. Many temples charge an entry fee or take reservations only in the flower season, so check their websites before you go.
Do
Saitama Prefecture
Snack your way along an old shopping street
A shotengai is a shopping street of small family-run shops, and many of them sell hot snacks one piece at a time over the counter. Walk from shop to shop for croquettes, taiyaki, fish-shaped cakes filled with sweet bean paste, and dango, chewy rice dumplings, and compare what each street is known for. Bring cash, and on busy streets eat beside the shop rather than while walking.
Town
Kamakura
A samurai capital of Zen temples and whitebait
Kamakura was the seat of Japan's first samurai government, from the late 12th century, and fishermen still net shirasu, tiny whitebait, off its beach. Have them boiled and piled on rice, then walk to the great shrine and on to the old Zen temples. It is about an hour from Tokyo by JR.

Explore More Areas

Kanagawa Prefecture
Yokohama
Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture
Kotoku-in
Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture
Kencho-ji
Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture
Tsurugaoka Hachimangu
Google
Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture
八十八鎌倉
Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture
Hasedera
Google
Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture
おにぎり こんが 鎌倉店
Google
Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture
WOODBERRY COFFEE 鎌倉店
Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture
報国寺
Google
Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture
報国寺 竹林
Google
Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture
Isayah TIME AND SPACE
Google
Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture
AaHbit
Google
Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture
Betsubara Donuts
Google
Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture
カフェ ヴィヴモン ディモンシュ
Google
Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture
喫茶吉野
Google
Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture
Mushinan
Google
Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture
Akari Dining
Google
Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture
パンとエスプレッソと 由比ガ浜商店
Google
Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture
la Coccinelle
Google
Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture
ヨリドコロ 由比ヶ浜大通り店
Google
Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture
LA PETITE BOULANGERIE KITA KAMAKURA 北鎌倉の小さなパン屋
Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture
小町通り商店街
Google
Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture
朝食屋コバカバ
Google
Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture
北鎌倉ベルタイム珈琲
Google
Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture
トリプルカフェ TRIPLE CAFE
Google
Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture
Yuria Pemu Peru Kamakura
Google
Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture
Giraffa Curry Pan
Google
Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture
KOSHIGOE COFFEE
Google
Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture
茶寮 風花
Google
Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture
OXYMORON komachi
Google
Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture
イワタコーヒー店