Date & Time: Sunday, December 28, 9:50 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Spots: Kamakura Daibutsu (Great Buddha) at Kotoku-in, Houkokuji Temple, Tsurugaoka Hachimangu, and Komachi-dori Street
Visitors: An American family of four (a couple in their 40s and their teenage daughter and son)
Guide: Masamichi, a KSGG member
Language: English
On the last Sunday of 2025, a KSGG member, Masamichi, guided an American family of four through Kamakura’s classic sightseeing spots KSGG members often visit. The family was originally from Wisconsin and is now stationed in Madrid, Spain. The family and Masamichi met at JR Kamakura Station. First, they got on the Enoden Line and walked to Kotoku-in from Hase Station. After visiting Kotoku-in, they returned to Kamakura Station by bus for lunch. In the afternoon, Masamichi took them to Houkokuji Temple and Tsurugaoka Hachimangu. As it was the year-end holiday season, Masamichi wondered if Kamakura might be crowded with sightseers. However, there were fewer people than expected wherever they went, and the visitors seemed to enjoy the tour.
Since Houkokuji Temple was scheduled to close from the following day through the first three days of the New Year, they were lucky to be able to visit the temple. As usual, there were a lot of sightseers there. However, since only a few sightseers stayed long at the café, Kyukouan, in the precincts, the visitors could sit in the front-row seats and immersed themselves in the tranquility of the bamboo grove. On the other hand, the main shrine of Tsurugaoka Hachimangu were busy with preparations for the New Year’s visit. All the family members correctly bowed twice, clapped twice, and bowed once again in front of the worship hall, saying that they had learned the proper etiquette for worshipping at Sensoji Temple in Asakusa. At Kotoku-in, the four gazed at Kamakura Daibutsu (the Great Buddha of Kamakura) for a while and were especially interested in the meaning of the hand gesture (mudra) of the Great Buddha *1.
At every temple and shrine they visited that day, the visitors made sure to collect goshuin *2(a sacred red ink seal and calligraphy representing the name of the temple or shrine). They were also delighted to collect commemorative stamps at Kamakura Station and Hase Station. When Masamichi presented them with washi paper dolls handmade by KSGG members as commemorative gifts, they were truly pleased, saying “How lovely!”
*1: The hand gesture of the Great Buddha at Kotoku-in is called Jouin (Dhyana Mudra), which symbolizes the Buddha in deep meditation.
*2: A goshuin is a certificate of a visit to a shrine or temple. The design of each goshuin varies from shrine to shrine and from temple to temple. To receive a goshuin, visitors are required to pay a small fee.
2026-4-5