Date and time:
June 1, 2025; 9:00 a.m.- 6:00 p.m.
June 2, 2025; 9:30 a.m.- 6:30 p.m.
Spots of the 1st day: Sugimotodera Temple, Jomyoji Temple, Ichijoekan Villa, Hokokuji Temple, Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine
Spots of the 2nd day: Meigetsuin Temple, Jochiji Temple, Daibutsu Hiking Course, Zeniarai Benzaiten Shrine, Sasuke Inari Shrine, Kotokuin Temple, Hasedera Temple
Visitors: Two women from California, USA
Guides: Kazuyo (the 1st day), Jinn (the 2nd day)
Language: English
Please note that
The 1st Day
The two travelers, Inna and Vita from California, were close friends with academic careers. They were also energetic travelers. It was their third visit to Japan. This year, they chose Kamakura as the first destination to start their one-month-long tour with. They were to visit other locations, including Hakone, Nagano, and Kanazawa. Their interest in Japan was significant and wide-ranging. They were even going to participate in a Japanese painting workshop during this trip.
At 9:00 a.m. June 1, Inna and Vita met their first KSGG guide Kazuyo, at their hotel by the Zaimokuza Beach. They first walked about 45 minutes up to Sugimotodera Temple, the oldest Buddhist temple in Kamakura. The aged, worn stone steps covered with moss, the thatched roof of the main hall, dozens of white vertical banners surrounding the corridor, the Buddhist statues almost within reach —everything the two saw there deeply interested them.
Next, they went to Jomyoji Temple, which used to be one of Kamakura Gozan (the Five Designated Temples of Kamakura) in the 13th century. It was still early and almost no other visitors were there. At the tea house located in the precinct, they had a peaceful moment with green tea and a piece of Japanese sweets served in the tea-ceremony style. They also enjoyed the view of the zen garden. They were also interested in the sound of the suikinkutsu*1. There, Kazuyo explained the spirit of the tea ceremony: ichigo ichie, which means, “Treasure every encounter, for it will never recur”.
The third spot was Ichijo-Ekan Sanso, a villa built 380 years ago for a member of the Imperial Family in those days. The building and the garden with small tea-ceremony huts are designated as a National Important Cultural Property. Inna, Vita and Kazuyo had booked a guided tour. They walked inside the site listening to the official guide’s explanation in Japanese, with Kazuyo translating it in English. They were strongly impressed with the architecture full of delicate, intricate work.
Next was Hokokuji Temple, well known as the bamboo temple. They walked happily through the bamboo grove behind the hall and took a lot of pictures.
Although their morning itinerary was packed, they moved from place to place almost as scheduled. For a late lunch, Kazuyo took them to an okonomiyaki restaurant, where each of the two visitors enjoyed cooking their own okonomiyaki (Japanese style pancake with various ingredients) on the hot iron plate in front of them.
In the afternoon, the three decided to stroll around Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine. They also walked along Komachi-dori Street for shopping.
Inna, Vita and Kazuyo really had fun browsing shops along the street, just like three old friends. The American women seemed to be attracted to local products. They finally found bags made in Kamakura and bought them.
It surely was a great day for the three. Later, in her thank-you letter to KSGG, Inna wrote, “Drinking tea with Kazuyo-san at Jomyoji’s serene tea house was one of the highlights of our walk.”
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*1: Suikinkutsu is a traditional garden feature in Japan. It is a pot with a small hole, buried upside down in the ground close to a water basin at a corner of the garden. When the water from the basin drops inside through the hole of the pot, it makes a beautiful echoing sound like a harp.
The 2nd Day
Initially, for the second day, Inna had planned to walk all the way to Kamakura Daibutsu (the Great Buddha) via the Daibutsu Hiking Course, which is located along the western ridge of the mountains surrounding Kamakura. However, Jinn, the guide, worried that the route might not very easy in some parts because it had rained for two days, and the trail might be muddy and slippery.
When Ina, Vita and Jinn met at a café near the beach at 9:30, the rain was almost letting up and they agreed that they might give it a try and go as far as they could. The two visitors had their hiking boots on and were ready to walk along whatever the route was like. They also wanted to visit Meigetsuin Temple, which is well-known for thousands of Hydrangea plants. So He decided to take the route through the Kitakamakura area, dropping in at Meigetsuin and Jochiji Temple on the way to the Daibutsu Hiking Course.
It was a weekday, and they found that Meigetsuin was less crowded than on weekends. Yet there were more and more people coming into the temple site, while Inna and Vita happily spotted different varieties of hydrangeas and took a lot of portraits with pale-purple flowers.
Then they paid a short visit to Jochiji. The two seemed to feel something special about the modest appearance of the small Zen temple. They also liked to see the pose of the stone statue of Hotei, one of the Seven Lucky Deities, pointing with his index finger to say “Happiness is here, just close to you”.
After the short stay at Jochiji, they walked to the trailhead just behind the temple. It was getting warmer and more humid, but fresh green leaves covering the trail and birds chirping along made them feel as if the three were deep in the mountain.
The path was easy. There was not much muddy slush, and they went on without tripping or slipping. However, by the time they reached Kuzuharaoka Shrine, which was located about a third of the way along the whole course, the sunshine got stronger. The humidity was making Vita and Jinn a little tired. Inna seemed all right.
So, they went off the trail and visited a shrine nearby called Zeni-arai Benzaiten. Here, most visitors rinse their cash in the sacred water to wish for more wealth. Jinn said, “Visitors from overseas would have to wash their currencies if they wanted to increase money in their wallet.” His joke inspired Inna and Vita to rinse their large dollar bills. The three laughed, saying, “This is real money laundering.”
Jinn explained that Benzaiten was originally a Hindu goddess who entered Japan alongside Buddhism and, over time, came to be enshrined behind torii gates, as if it was a Shinto deity. Although the two didn’t seem to fully grasp the Japan’s religious syncretism, they might have understood the complexity of Japanese religion, given its various historical circumstances.
Then they walked to the city’s downtown area for lunch. On the way, they dropped in at Sasuke Inari Shrine, where Inna and Vita saw dozens of red tori gates and hundreds of small ceramic fox figures. Jinn explained that foxes were considered to be messengers of Inari, the deity of agriculture.
After lunch the two and the guide got refreshed and took a bus to Kotokuin, the temple of Kamakura Daibutsu, the famous big statue of Buddha. The view of the huge statue was amazing. They learned that the statue was there under the blue sky for centuries. The two were fascinated when they discovered the remaining gold leaf on the Buddha’s right cheek.