Kamakura used to the capital of Japan during 12th to 14th century. It was the first period governed by the samurai warriors; Shoguns.Since samurai practiced Zen Buddhism, there are many Zen Temples which were built before those in Kyoto.
At your hotel
I will pick you up near the reception.
The Big Buddha in Kotoku-In Temple; The big Buddha was built in the 13th century, which is the most popular site in Kamakura. It is a statue of Amida Buddha who helps everyone in need to be reborn in the Heaven (Admission: 200 JPY except the guide)
Hase-Dera Temple; It is about 10 minutes walk from the Big Buddha, this temple was built in 8th century, which has a nice Japanese garden, statues of Buddha, view of the Pacific Ocean and a unique cave shrine. It is also famous for its hydrangea trail. (Admission: 400 JPY except the guide)
Lunch; We will have a casual Japanese lunch with Tempura for about 1,500JPY per person. If you want any special lunch, please ask me before the tour.
You can find pictures of these places by clicking (>) in the left window.
This shrine was built in 1063 for Minamoto Family who governed Japan in the 12th century. This shrine is very popular for Japanese people to visit in new year days. (Admission free)
This temple was built in 1334 to commemorate Ashikaga Ietoki who was the grandfather of Takauji who started Muromachi period. The bamboo forest of Hokoku temple is something different from other places (Admission: 300 JPY except the guide). You can drink a cup of Japanese power green tea with sweets with the view of the bamboo forest. (Extra fee: 600 JPY)
This temple was built in 1253 which ranked the highest Zen temple in Kamakura. You can see and take pictures of the marvelous Cloud Dragon in the ceiling which is as good as the one at Tenryu-ji Temple in Kyoto. (Admission: 500 JPY except the guide)
This temple was built in 1282 which ranked 2nd highest Zen temple in Kamakura. You can see and take a picture of the statue of Shaka in the main worship hall. (Admission: 300 JPY except the guide)
Enjoy shopping at many unique shops of Japanese products, very popular for local women.
If it is very fine, you can see Mt. Fuji from this beach.
If you come here, you will find a cozy restaurant for lunch and may try an Onsen (hot bath) next to the restaurant.
End of the tour
At your hotel
1. Memorable Tour; I can show you around the most memorable places in Kamakura based on my experience.
1. Easier to Go; I will choose the most efficient and comfortable transportation so you don't have to be bothered by how to visit them efficiently within a day.
3. Flexible Plan; My tour is very flexible with time and places with many options according to your interest.
4. Delicious Foods; Japanese food is very important part of my tour, I will take you to my favorite restaurant for lunch during the tour.
guide fee, hotel pick up
Transportation cost of you and the guide (3,000 JPY per person)
Lunch of you and the guide (about 1,500 JPY per person)
Entrance fee of you (Big Buddha: 200 JPY, Hase-Dera: 400 JPY, Hokoku-Ji: 300 JPY, Kencho-Ji: 500 JPY, Enkaku-Ji: 300 JPY)
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Japan has been closed to foreign travelers since March, 2020. This restriction has been eased since October 11th, 2022 and there is little restrictions now in 2023. Please ask me the availability of the tour before you book it. I was vaccinated five times with the Pfizer one.
Not available on Mondays.
Most of the temples close about 16:00 to 17:00.
- The tour guide is not available on Monday.
- Please, send a direct message to the tour guide for confirming the availability before booking
Yes, you can ride a green car in JR line from Tokyo to Kamakura for about an hour. But please pay the transportation cost of the guide of about 2000 JPY.
Besides being a highly knowledgeable guide, Yuki went out of his way to ensure that my husband had gluten-free food for lunch. He also made valuable suggestions for sight seeing on our own, both of which we very much appreciated.
Dear Andrea, Thank you for writing the review of my Tokyo tour. We visited Asakusa, Meiji Shrine, and Shinjuku Gyoen Garden. We had GF lunch at Roppongi. Thank you very much for taking my tour. Yuki
Hi Yuki San, Thank you very much for bringing me to Mt Fuji, I enjoyed the trip very much, as the weather was good and we could see Mt Fuji clearly and managed to eat the Hoto noodles! Thank you for taking the time to bring me to Shinbuya to buy traditional mochi for my family, they are delicious and visited various drug stores to get some supplements. See you again next time! Rachel
Dear Rachel, Thank you for the review of my tour to Lake Kawaguchi. We visited Koreito Pagoda to see Mt. Fuji then Kimono Museum after lunch. It was a perfect day for the tour, despite of the poor weather forecast. Thank you for taking my tour. Yuki
Yuki arrived promptly at the scheduled time and was pleasant however he was not clear with time limit at the 1st stop ie 10 mins only and our group of 10 were not able to view 3 of the scheduled tour highlights even though we only over stayed at the budha about 15 mins extra. In fact we were only able to view 2 out of 5 which was disapointing. His selection of a lunch location was good and he introduced us the the Subway system in Japan. The tour would have been more dynamic if he had a mic system so we could all hear him.
Dear Frank, I apologize your dissatisfaction. The time schedule is shown 30 min. at the Great Buddah in the itinerary. I am very flexible about the time, but your family takes too much time to take photos at a distance from the Buddha while other families finish visiting tthere. So I asked you to hurry up several times. I delayed our reservation time for lunch to cover the planned place, but you asked me to have lunch on time, so I had no choice but to skip one place. Then I took you to Hachiman-gu Shrine and Komachi street as planned. So I covered three places out of four places. Please understand the difficulty of handling ten people consisting of three different families. Thank you for taking my tour. Yuki
Yuki-san was very well mannered and patient, he took the time to show some extra areas of Hakone whenever we had extra time to spare. He took us to a great place to eat and I enjoyed the meal and experience so much. Thanks Mr. Yuki.
Dear Frank, Thank you for writing the review soon after the tour. Everything went well except we missed Mt. Fuji. But it would be better than the coming typhoon. Best regards, Yuki