Yokohama to Kamakura for a day trip! temples, gardens, bamboo forest, tea house + more! ⛩

Hi there!

It’s easy to make it a day trip to Kamakura from Yokohama or Tokyo!

Kamakura is one of the most popular Tokyo day trips.

It’s very possible to spend all day in Kamakura. Once you are in Kamakura, you can get around by bus, train, and foot. (It’s very possible you’ll end up using all modes of transportation to do all the things!)

Kamakura is best known for its iconic Great Buddha statue. Other than that (which can be a quick visit), Kamakura is also a very good place to go to see temples and Japanese gardens! You can even stop by a tea house with views of a bamboo forest! Most of the must-see things in Kamakura do have small admission fees of 300 to 600 yen (US$5).

You can use an IC card for the bus and train, and that can make it easy to pay for. Or, instead of using your IC card, you may want to get an all-day train pass to save money, in particular if you’re coming from Tokyo, which I will explain below.

I will also show you some pictures from my time in Kamakura!

 

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There are partner websites that are included below.

 

 

Kamakura tours

It’s quite possible to do Kamakura on your own, but if you’ve like to have a more enhanced appreciation of Japan, there are Kamakura tours that you can do.

You can do it as a day trip with transportation from Tokyo by doing combo tours like the Kamakura and Mount Fuji tour or the Kamakura and Enoshima tour.

If you don’t mind getting yourself to Kamakura on your own, you can also do something like the Kamakura walking tour which has a meeting at Kita-Kamakura Station (note that this is different from Kamakura Station).

For more uniquely Japan experiences that start in Kamakura, you can see about doing a Japanese sweets making class or a tea ceremony.

Read the reviews of more Kamakura tours on viator or more Kamakura tours on getyourguide.

 

 

 

👆 You go to Kamakura to visit temples! This cute stone statue is at the must-visit Hasedera Temple.

 

👆 This is Kamakura Station, one of the places that you can start your time in Kamakura!

 

 

How to get from Yokohama to Kamakura by train

To go to Kamakura, you can take a train to Kamakura Station. You may want to go to Hase Station to start your time in Kamakura, but in any case, it’s a train ride away!

You can get from Yokohama Station to Kamakura Station by train in under 30 minutes, and it’s direct.

 

👆 There is a direct train from Yokohama Station to Kamakura Station.

 

If you plan to do different day trips from Yokohama, it could be convenient to stay in hotels near Yokohama Station. The Yokohama Bay Sheraton is pretty much at Yokohama Station.

 

You can take a local train from Yokohama to Kamakura, and this means that you can pay using an IC card.

 

IC cards are public transportation cards that you can load cash onto at any train station. You can get an IC card (like a suica card or pasmo card) at the first train station you go to in Yokohama or Tokyo, including when you arrive at the airport or Yokohama Station. You will buy it at the ticket machine at the train station. The ticket machines have the option to be shown in English, so look for the ENGLISH button!

 

To figure out which train to take to get to Kamakura, just use google maps!

This is all you need to navigate public transportation in Yokohama. It will tell you the train route and timings.

 

👆 You can take a train from Yokohama Station to Kamakura Station! Google maps will give you the different train options with cost. Explore the map. I have found that looking at google maps on my phone (the app) gives more details than the desktop version. So play around with it on your phone!

 

 

If you go to google maps public transit and put “Yokohama Station” as your starting point, and “Kamakura Station” as your end point, and click on the public transit option, you will see for example that one option is to take the “JO Yokosuka Line” train with the destination “Kurihama.”

The destination is important because it will tell you which side of the platform you need to be on.

Or actually, google maps on your phone makes this easy too, because it even tell you what platform you need to go to if you expand out the directions.

Also if you expand out the directions, it will tell you how many stops you have to go, and the names of the stops you will pass by too! It also tells you the cost of the train ride, which can help in knowing how much cash to put on your IC card.

If you are still in planning stages at home, it would be better if you know the train station that’s closest to the hotel you’ll be staying at. When you are actually in Yokohama, you can just use “current location” as your starting point and that will make it super easy to know where to go!

You may also need to adjust the departure time if you’re looking at it when it’s late evening in Japan.

 

It might seem intimidating to take public transportation in Japan, but don’t worry, after you take it a few times, you will feel like a pro! And if you do mess up, not to worry. You aren’t alone. It’s just a part of the Japan experience. 🤪 Stay calm, and as long as you have google maps, you will figure it out. 😆 And, look for signs!

 

 

Tokyo to Kamakura

Similar to Yokohama, you can get to Kamakura by direct train from Tokyo.

 

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You can get from Tokyo Station to Kamakura Station in less than an hour on a direct train.

 

👆 You can get from Tokyo to Kamakura in less than 1 hour.

 

 

Enoshima Kamakura all-day train pass (from Tokyo)

By using google maps public transportation directions to look for the cost of the train fare, you can more easily figure out if getting the Enoshima Kamakura freepass will be worth it for you. This is an all day train pass that includes round trip public transportation from Shinjuku Station in Tokyo to Kamakura.

The Enoshima Kamakura free pass is good for train rides on the specific lines of the Odakyu Line and Enoden Line.

To get you started, you can look at google maps for directions from Shinjuku Station (Tokyo) to Fujisawa Station (near Kamakura) on the Odakyu Line. See the map. (Look for Odakyu Line.) From Fujisawa, you’ll get on the Enoden Line to get to Kamakura Station or Hase Station (your starting point for the must-see things in Kamakura). See the map.

If you are staying in Shinjuku and doing a day trip to Kamakura, you will find that this train ticket is worth it just in the round trip train cost between Shinjuku and Kamakura. But, check google maps to confirm!

There is also a “freepass” (all day train ticket) for trains in the Kamakura area. See the official info.

 

👆 You can take the Enoden train in Kamakura.

 

Enoshima Island is near Kamakura, and it’s another popular tourist spot. It can be reasonable to do both in one day, although it could be a long day if you want to see all-the-things! (And a lot of walking!) Make note of closing times for the things that are important to you. (Notably, the temples in Kamakura and caves in Enoshima.)

See more about my day in Enoshima. For another place you can go alongside your trip to Kamakura, have a look at Odawara Castle.

 

 

 

Kamakura Station coin lockers

If you are at a tourist town in Japan, chances are there are coin lockers at the train station! Coin lockers can work well for luggage storage if you are on the move from one city to the next and you want to stop by a city along the way!

There are coin lockers for luggage storage at Kamakura Station! So if you want to move on from Tokyo or Yokohama on your way to your next destination like Kyoto and Osaka, you can stop by Kamakura even if you will have luggage!

There are different size lockers, and the cost will depend on which size you get. But in general it will cost around 500 to 800 yen (around US$5). You make payment using an IC card.

When you arrive at the Kamakura Station, look for a sign for “coin lockers.”

If you arrive to no available coin lockers, you can go to the Kamakura City Tourist Association office or Kamakura Onari Baggage Storage Service. Make note of the time that you will need to pick up your luggage by.

 

👆 There are coin lockers at Kamakura Station. Follow the prompts on the screen. Look for the language/English button.

 

👆 You can use the coin lockers at Kamakura Station for luggage storage.

 

 

 

 

Walking around Kamakura

My sightseeing time of the must-see things in Kamakura was 4-5 hours. This time includes the train rides, bus ride, and walking to/from train/bus. I went to Hasedera Temple, the Great Buddha Statue, Tsurugaoka Hachimanju Shrine, and Hokokuji-in Temple.

I did not get around to going to the torii tunnel of Kamakura, the Sasuke Inari Shrine (map).

 

My time in Kamakura was split over 2 days. I arrived to Kamakura Station in the afternoon from Tokyo, stopped by the visitor center to get a map, dropped off luggage at my hotel, and then went from Kamakura Station to Hase Station. From Hase Station, I walked to Hasedera Temple and the Great Buddha at the Kotoku-in Temple. See the map.

I stayed overnight in Kamakura at Kamakura Hotel which is a few minutes walk from Kamakura Station.

The next day, I dropped off luggage at Kamakura Station, and then walked from Kamakura Station to Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine. From there I walked to Hokokuji Temple for matcha tea at the bamboo forest! Then I walked to nearby Ichijo Ekan Sanso villa but it was closed for renovations. (I wanted to do the tea thing here too!) Then I found the nearest bus stop (thanks, google maps!) to get back to Kamakura Station.

I did walk to Yuigahama Beach in the morning, but I don’t find that to be a must-do. I did see some jellyfish lying on the beach and that was fun!

 

Once I got back to Kamakura Station, I went to Enoshima Station by train and did things walking from there. Then from Enoshima Station, I went to Odawara Station by train and walked to Odawara Castle. (I did luggage storage at the coin lockers at Enoshima Station and Odawara Station.) After Odawara, it was a shinkansen bullet train to Kyoto!

 

Now, more of my pictures from Kamakura!

 

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Walking from Hase Station: Hasedera Temple and Kotoku-in Temple (Great Buddha)

The train from Kamakura Station to Hase Station is a 4 minute train ride.

It’s a 5 minute walk from Hase Station to Hasedera Temple.

 

👆 Walking to the entrance of Hasedera Temple.

 

👆 Going to temples in Japan is a good way to see Japanese gardens!

 

👆 Stone statues and bamboo trees in Kamakura.

 

👆 Doesn’t seeing a laughing Buddha just make you smile?! 😄

 

😄

 

👆 You can see lots of little stone statues at Hasedera Temple!

 

👆 You can see a golden Buddha too.

 

So that’s Hasedera Temple. It’s about a 10 minute walk from Hasedera Temple to Kotoku-in Temple where the Great Buddha is location. It’s a quick visit to see the Great Buddha.

 

👆 Once you pay the entrance fee of Kotoku-in Temple, it’s a few minutes walk to see the Great Buddha. And then you have seen what you have come to see.

 

👆 Stay for awhile to ponder about life.

 

This is the end of things I did walking from Hase Station.

 

 

Walking from Kamakura Station: Tsurugaoka Hachimanju, and Hokokuji-in Temple

It’s about a 10 minute walk from Kamakura Station to Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine. You can see bright red torii shrine gates along the way.

Walking from Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine to Hokokuji Temple is about a 20 minute walk.

After the temple, I took a bus back to Kamakura Station.

 

👆 You can walk through a red torii gate on your way to Tsurugaoka Hachimangu!

 

👆 Climb up the stairs at the shrine!

 

👆 At many temples in Japan, there are tea houses or tea rooms where you can order matcha green tea! It’s a classic Japan experience to have, and I love it when I find temples and Japanese gardens that have a tea house! In Kamakura, you can go to Hokokuji Temple for matcha tea and small Japanese sweets in a bamboo forest!

 

👆 The tea house in Kamakura with views of a bamboo forest!

 

👆 The bamboo forest walk to the tea house!

 

👆 Play around with the Kamakura map! Click the upper left corner for the quick list of what’s on the map! Zoom in to Kamakura Station and Hase Station to get a better orientation of how to get to the popular things to do! For reference, Yokohama, Enoshima, and Tokyo are also included. If you’re having problems viewing map, see it directly in google maps.

 

HAPPY DAY TRIP TO KAMAKURA!