City guide · 鎌倉 Kamakura
Kamakura
The first samurai capital: the Great Buddha, old temples and the Shōnan coast
Kamakura is about an hour from Tokyo but feels like another era: the open-air Great Buddha, Hase-dera's hydrangeas, sea views along the Enoden line, and the shrines and sunsets of Enoshima.
History
How the city came to be
From 1185 to 1333 Kamakura was the seat of the Kamakura shogunate and Japan's de facto capital. The shogunate was founded by Minamoto no Yoritomo, and the people and stories of the Kamakura period later became major themes in Japanese poetry, theatre, period dramas and manga. After the shogunate fell Kamakura declined for a time; today its many old temples and its coastline make it a popular destination near Tokyo.
- 1185Minamoto no Yoritomo established the shogunate in Kamakura (some say 1192)
- 1191Tsurugaoka Hachimangū moved to its present site
- 1219The third shogun, Minamoto no Sanetomo, was assassinated at Tsurugaoka Hachimangū
- 1252Casting of the bronze Great Buddha is thought to have begun around this year
- 1333The Kamakura shogunate fell
Stories
Stories of the city
History · Great Buddha of Kamakura
The samurai capital where the Buddha sits
Kamakura was the seat of Japan's first warrior government. After winning the Genpei War, Minamoto no Yoritomo founded his shogunate with Kamakura as its base, and in 1191 he moved Tsurugaoka Hachimangū to its present site as the shogunate's guardian shrine. In 1219 the third shogun, Minamoto no Sanetomo, was assassinated at the foot of the shrine's stone steps by his nephew Kugyō; legend says the assassin hid behind the great ginkgo tree, but contemporary sources don't mention the tree, and this detail probably only appeared in the Edo period.
History · Great Buddha of Kamakura
First a wooden Buddha, then a bronze one
Before today's bronze Buddha, a huge wooden statue stood here: funded by Lady Inada and the priest Jōkō, it took ten years and was completed in 1243. In 1248 the wooden Buddha was damaged in a storm and its hall destroyed, so Jōkō proposed casting a bronze Buddha instead and raised a huge sum again. According to temple records, the bronze Great Buddha was cast around 1252.
History · Enoshima
A British merchant's botanical garden
Enoshima is dedicated to Benzaiten, goddess of music and the arts. After the separation of Shinto and Buddhism in the early Meiji era, the high ground of the island was left empty, and in 1880 the British merchant Samuel Cocking bought a large plot of land in his Japanese wife's name and built a botanical garden and greenhouse. The greenhouse was destroyed in the Great Kantō Earthquake of 1923, but the garden survived — today's Samuel Cocking Garden.
People
People connected with Kamakura
Must see
Places you shouldn’t miss
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Kamakura-Kōkōmae Station crossing
Straight out of the 'Slam Dunk' opening: a three-panel manga of train, sea, sky and level crossing
Great Buddha of Kamakura
A giant bronze Buddha that has sat in the open air for more than 700 years — the second-largest Buddha statue in Japan. 11.3 m tall and weighing…
Hase-dera, Kamakura
A 'temple of flowers' facing Sagami Bay, enshrining a 9.18-m Eleven-Headed Kannon. In early summer more than 40 varieties of hydrangea cascade d…
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Enoshima
A sacred island in Sagami Bay, born of the legend of 'the heavenly maiden and the five-headed dragon', with shrines, gardens, a lighthouse, cave…
Before you go
Rules to know in Kamakura
Take off your shoes when you see a genkan (entrance step)
- Take off your shoes at the entrance of homes, some restaurants, temples and hot-spring facilities
- If unsure, look for a shoe rack or slippers at the entrance
- Stepping onto tatami or indoor wooden floors in shoes
It is seen as very rude.
Verified Oct 19, 2026Source: JNTO: Japanese etiquette
No phone calls on trains and the shinkansen; queue to board
- Put your phone on silent; on the shinkansen, take calls in the area between carriages
- Queue at the marked spots on either side of the train door, and let people off before you get on
- Give priority seats to older people, pregnant women and passengers with limited mobility
- Talking on the phone or playing sound aloud in the train
Not illegal, but you will get looks and a reminder from the conductor.
Verified Oct 19, 2026Source: JNTO: Japanese etiquette
If you have tattoos, check the rules before using a hot spring
- Before you go, email the facility to ask about its rules
- Small to medium tattoos can be covered with skin-coloured patches (some onsen sell them)
- Choose a tattoo-friendly onsen, or book a private bath (kashikiri-buro) in advance
- Ignoring 'no tattoos' signs and getting in anyway
Most onsen do not allow guests with tattoos to bathe, but rules vary by facility and are often more relaxed for foreign visitors.
Verified Oct 19, 2026Source: JNTO: tattoo rules and etiquette at onsen
Wash your body thoroughly before getting into a hot spring
- Before getting in, sit on the small stool in the washing area and wash your whole body with the shower or a bucket, leaving no soap
- Leave your small towel at the edge of the bath or fold it on your head
- Getting into the bath without rinsing first
- Dipping your towel in the bath water
- Leaving a used towel in the washing area
Not illegal, but other guests and the staff will see it as very rude. Most onsen require you to be fully naked in the bathing area.
Verified Oct 19, 2026Source: JNTO: a beginner's guide to onsen
There is no tipping in Japan
- Say thank you with 'arigatō gozaimashita'
- Pressing loose change on staff
Japan is a no-tipping country and bills usually include service; if you press a tip on staff, some will politely refuse.
Verified Oct 19, 2026Source: JNTO: Japanese table manners
An izakaya's otoshi is a cover charge
- Accept the otoshi as an appetiser
- Arguing with staff about it or asking for it to be taken back
There is no penalty: before you order at an izakaya, a small dish of otoshi always arrives. It doubles as the cover charge and cannot be chosen or swapped.
Verified Oct 19, 2026Source: JNTO: drinking in Japan