Tuesday, April 14 Day Trip

Kamakura Day Trip

🌥️ 21°C · Temples, Great Buddha, coastal tram, shirasu lunch, Kamakura Matsuri festival 🎉
KEY TIMES Today’s Flow
TimeWhat
6:30–8:00☕ Breakfast at Southern Tower
8:00–10:00🛌 Relax, pack daypack
10:00🚶 Leave hotel → Shinjuku Station
10:15🚃 JR Shonan-Shinjuku Line departure
11:15🚉 Arrive Kamakura Station
11:20🚋 Enoden to Hase
11:30🐟 Lunch: Shirasu Cafe Jinbei
12:45🗿 Great Buddha (Kotoku-in)
13:45⛩️ Hase-dera Temple
15:00🚋 Enoden back to Kamakura Station
15:15⛩️ Tsurugaoka Hachimangu + Matsuri 🎉
16:15🛍️ Komachi-dori browsing
17:00🚃 JR back to Shinjuku
18:00🚉 Arrive Shinjuku
Evening🍴 Light dinner TBD
CHECK Before Leaving Hotel
  • Cash for temple fees + Shirasuya backup (cash only)
  • Suica/Pasmo topped up with ¥3,000+ each (covers all transport, no paper tickets needed)
  • Small backpack for water + camera + souvenirs
  • Comfortable walking shoes — lots of temple walking
  • Light jacket — slightly cooler day (21°C)
  • Camera/phone charged — tons of great photo ops
  • Google Maps offline pinned to all Kamakura stops
6:30 Breakfast — Southern Tower Dining
☕ Southern Tower Dining (20F)
6:30–10:30 AM · Eat well — lots of walking today.
8:00 Morning Buffer
  • Relax at hotel, charge phones, pack daypack
  • Download offline Kamakura map on Google Maps
  • Top up Suica/Pasmo if needed
10:00 Train to Kamakura
🚃 JR Shonan-Shinjuku Line (Direct)
Shinjuku → Kamakura · Direction: Zushi / Kurihama · ~60 min direct
~¥950/person one-way (~¥7,600 round-trip for 4) · Tap Suica/Pasmo
Trains run every ~15–20 min · No reservation needed

Tip: Sit on the right side for better views as you approach Kamakura.

📍 Kamakura Station
11:20 Enoden Tram to Hase
🚋 Enoden (江ノ電) · Kamakura → Hase
Iconic vintage green tram · 3 stops, ~5 min · ~¥200/person
Or: Noriorikun all-day pass ¥800/adult · Trains every ~12 min

At Kamakura Station:

  • Enoden has its own separate platform inside the same station building
  • Follow 🟢 green Enoden signs (江ノ電) — ~2 min walk through the station
  • Enoden gates look different from JR — smaller, vintage feel
  • Tap your IC card on the green pad at the Enoden gate

The Enoden train:

  • Tiny green-and-cream vintage tram, only 4 cars long
  • Wooden interior on some trains
  • Runs along the coast — you’ll see the Pacific Ocean
  • One of Japan’s most beloved vintage train rides (Slam Dunk, others)
  • Less crowded on Tuesdays — just grab a seat, no reservations
  • 🎯 Luca will love this — it’s basically a real-life Tomica experience

Hase Station:

  • Tiny station with one platform each direction
  • Tap out at the gate, walk straight out
  • Great Buddha is signposted (~7 min walk uphill)
📍 Enoden Kamakura Station
11:30 Lunch — Shirasu Cafe Jinbei
🐟 Shirasu Cafe Kamakura Jinbei (しらすカフェ鎌倉甚兵衛) · 🥇 Primary
Hase 1-15-7, Kamakura · 11 AM–6 PM Tue ✅ · ⭐ 4.1 (284 reviews) · ~¥1,500–2,500/person
  • Specializes in shirasu (whitebait) — Kamakura’s signature local dish
  • Raw + cooked shirasu combo sets
  • Tiny mom-and-pop spot with English instructions
⚠️ Arrive by 12:00 PM — small space, can fill up
⚠️ Raw shirasu sells out by afternoon — go early for full menu
📍 Navigate to Jinbei

Backup options:

🥈 The Factory Kamakura (Burgers)
Yukinoshita 1-5-38 · 11 AM–7 PM Tue ✅ · ⭐ 4.7
If kids aren’t feeling shirasu — homemade burgers with homemade buns + bacon
📍 Maps
🥉 Shirasuya (different Enoden stop)
Koshigoe 2-10-13 · 11 AM–10 PM Tue ✅ · ⭐ 4.3 (2,021 reviews)
Bigger, more casual · Full shirasu set meal ¥2,200 (3 prep styles) · ⚠️ Cash only
📍 Maps
12:45 Great Buddha — Kotoku-in
🗿 Great Buddha of Kamakura (鎌倉大仏) · Kotoku-in Temple
4-2-28 Hase, Kamakura · 8 AM–5:30 PM · ~7 min walk from Hase Station
Entry: ¥300/adult, ¥150/child · Inside the Buddha: +¥50

Why it’s iconic:

  • 13.35m tall bronze Buddha, cast in 1252
  • One of Japan’s most famous images
  • Used to be inside a massive hall — washed away by a tsunami in 1498, now sits outdoors
  • You can climb inside the Buddha — hollow bronze interior (only ¥50 extra, kids will love it)

Duration: ~45 minutes

📍 Navigate to Great Buddha
13:45 Hase-dera Temple
⛩️ Hase-dera (長谷寺)
3-11-2 Hase, Kamakura · 8 AM–5 PM · ~5 min walk from Great Buddha
Entry: ¥400/adult, ¥200/child

Why it’s beautiful:

  • 11m tall wooden Kannon statue — one of Japan’s largest
  • Observation deck with Pacific Ocean view — sweeping panorama over Kamakura bay (don’t skip!)
  • Benten-kutsu Cave — small cave with carved deity statues inside
  • Beautiful seasonal flower gardens (camellias + azaleas in April)
  • Hundreds of small Jizo statues

Duration: ~1 hour

📍 Navigate to Hase-dera
15:15 Tsurugaoka Hachimangu + Matsuri Festival
⛩️ Tsurugaoka Hachimangu (鶴岡八幡宮)
2-1-31 Yukinoshita, Kamakura · 6 AM–8:30 PM (free) · ~10 min walk from Kamakura Station

Why it’s special:

  • Kamakura’s most important shrine — built 1063
  • Walk through iconic red torii gates along Wakamiya-oji approach
  • Large pond with lotus flowers, main hall up a grand staircase
🎉 KAMAKURA MATSURI FESTIVAL (Apr 12–19) — you’ll catch the festival!
Yabusame (horseback archery), Shizuka-no-mai dance, food stalls, festival atmosphere.
Check festival schedule on arrival — if yabusame is happening, prioritize it!

Duration: ~45–60 minutes

📍 Navigate to Tsurugaoka Hachimangu
16:15 Komachi-dori Shopping Street
🛍️ Komachi-dori (小町通り)
Kamakura’s main shopping/snacking street · Most shops 10 AM–6 PM
Parallel to Wakamiya-oji, back toward Kamakura Station
  • Browse local crafts, wooden toys, ceramics
  • Snack stops: matcha soft-serve, senbei (rice crackers), dango, purple sweet potato treats
  • Pick up omiyage (souvenirs)
📍 Navigate to Komachi-dori
17:00 Return to Shinjuku
🚃 JR Shonan-Shinjuku Line
Kamakura → Shinjuku · Direction: Shinjuku / Ikebukuro / Omiya · ~60 min direct
~¥950/person · Arrive Shinjuku ~6:00 PM
18:30 Dinner — Light / Shinjuku

Keep it simple and local to the hotel.

🍜 Ichiran Ramen — 24hr, 8 min walk
Kids love the private booths
🍱 Takashimaya Times Square restaurants
Multiple sit-down options, upper floors · 2 min from hotel · close ~10 PM
🍢 Omoide Yokocho
Iconic alley of tiny yakitori bars, near west exit
🍣 Standing sushi bar at Shinjuku Station
Quick and authentic
🍰 Hotel room picnic
Grab from Takashimaya depachika
TIPS Kamakura Pro Tips
  • Kamakura Matsuri (Apr 12–19) — check festival schedule at Tsurugaoka on arrival. If yabusame (horseback archery) is happening, prioritize it!
  • Enoden trains can get packed on busy days — travel during off-peak hours
  • Raw shirasu is seasonal and sold same-day only. If “sold out” by afternoon, the cooked version is still great
  • Hase-dera observation deck — best spot for ocean photos, don’t skip
  • Inside the Great Buddha — only ¥50 extra, kids will love it
  • Skip Enoshima Island (too far for one day with temple focus)
💰 Transport Cost Summary
LegCost (4 people)
JR Shinjuku → Kamakura~¥3,800
Enoden Kamakura → Hase~¥800
Enoden Hase → Kamakura~¥800
JR Kamakura → Shinjuku~¥3,800
Total~¥9,200 (~$62)

Keep Suica/Pasmo topped up with ¥3,000+ each and you won’t need a single paper ticket all day.

INFO Contacts
  • Hotel Century Southern Tower: 2-2-1 Yoyogi, Shibuya-ku 151-8583
  • Tomorrow (Wed Apr 15): ⛩️ Asakusa + Kappabashi day · 🥩 Yakiniku Futago Annex dinner 18:30 (BOOKED ✅)

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