As great as Tokyo is, it is nice to get out of the megalopolis for a while. Kamakura is a lovely, easy day trip south of the capital.
You can reach Kamakura in about an hour by train from Shibuya Station in Tokyo. There are several schedules with slightly different stops and timings that one might follow, but they all take about an hour and cost ¥920. As of the publication of this article, if you're paying more than ¥920, you're paying too much.
The main attraction in Kamakura is the Kotoku-in Buddhist temple with its impressive Grand Buddha statue. This site is about a 25-minute walk (1.9 km / 1.2 mi) west from the train station. It is especially nice during the spring sakura (cherry blossom) bloom. You can also go inside the Buddha statue for a small fee - it's a tight squeeze if the site is busy, which it usually is, but it's also cool to stand inside a centuries-old bronze mega-statue. Photographers: jack up the ISO, dial down the exposure compensation, and get ready to frame some abstract shots.
The Hokokuji Bamboo Forest is another main attraction in Kamakura. Be sure to remember that Hokokuji closes at 4:00, so if you arrive midday, have a bite to eat, walk along the water, etc., make sure you have enough time to get there before it closes. It opens at 9:00 daily, and it's approximately a half-hour walk east of the train station (opposite direction than for the Grand Buddha). We left Hokokuji to the end of the day and almost didn't make it - we started running when we saw the doors begin to close, and the man closing them was very nice to let us in - he certainly didn't have to. The light is very nice there in the late afternoon for photos. If you don't go there first thing, try to arrive there around 3:00.
There are a host of other small temples and shrines to visit throughout the hills and alleys of Kamakura - welcome to Japan. The walk along the beach is also refreshing. When it's nice out, you'll find sunbathers and surfers enjoying the coast. Meandering through the streets of Kamakura, you'll also find fun reminders of the fact that when you're in Japan, you're on the Ring of Fire and must, therefore, respect the earthquake and tsunami risk. Really, though, it's cool to see signage like this not only because of its novelty but because of the fact that you know that if an emergency does occur, the Japanese are ready.
If you're trekking through Japan's impeccable cities, mountains, and temples, make sure to make time for some coastal adventure in Globepouncing's favorite country.
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