Kamakura is a city located in the Kanagawa Prefecture, about an hour south of Tokyo. A ticket on the JR express train costs about 900 yen per person, one way. We had left from Shimbashi station since that was closer to the hotel, but I believe you can also go from the Shibuya station (which is where we ended up on the way back somehow so pay attention to the stops!). Kamakura is most well known for the giant Amida Buddha statue at Kōtoku-in.
The train station is located in the center of the town where all the shops are so we first went to get some food. I had found a place online called Bowls that served rice (in bowls…) with different toppings. It was quite delicious and healthy. From there we had to walk all the way to the other side of the town to the temples. There are buses that go around but my parents and I like to walk so rather than getting on a crowded bus full of tourists we took a nice stroll to Kōtoku-in where we were greeted by a lot of tourists. After our visit to Kōtoku-in, there was a little bakery right across the street that sold Imagawayaki. Imagawayaki is a Japanese dessert made of batter in a special pan then filled with something like vanilla custard or red bean (azuki, MY FAVORITE). I only had one which i still regret to this day because it was the best Imagawayaki I had in Japan (and I would eat these everyday for the rest of my life if i could).
I was still quite sick so I hadn’t done a lot of research about things to see in Kamakura other than the Buddha. Luckily outside the temple was a large map that showed different points of interests in the city and we were quite close to another temple called Hase-dera. Hase-dera temple is a large complex located on different levels of the hill so we were able to see great views of the sea from certain areas. It took us a bit of time to explore the whole place and they had some tables and chairs where we were able to rest for a bit.
By the time we finished at Hase-dera I was too exhausted (still sick + I can be so delicate sometimes) to continue. We had a late lunch back in the center of the town at a place that makes fresh udon (I love udon). The restaurant, Kamakura Miyoshi, serves udon similar to tsukemen where you have to dip the udon into the soup. After that it was a short train ride back to Tokyo.
