Culture Capital

The destination for a Club tour next month, Kamakura offers history-saturated sights and leisurely hikes in equal measure.

A little over an hour from central Tokyo, the former Japanese capital of Kamakura feels, in places, a million miles and a thousand years removed from the modern-day capital. That’s never more the case than in September, when for three days the historic Tsurugaoka Hachiman Shrine slips back to the time of the samurai with its annual Reitaisai festival.

Besides a portable shrine procession, with participants in period dress (September 15), and classical Japanese dance, the festival’s highlight is a display of yabusame horseback archery on September 16.

The colorful event sees horsemen in full samurai regalia shooting arrows at targets while galloping down a track. If you ignore the crowds holding up phones to video the display, you could be forgiven for thinking you’ve arrived in the Kamakura era (1192–1333). Members can watch the same spectacle during a Club tour on October 4.

Though it can be difficult to take in all its details amid the Reitaisai crowds, Tsurugaoka Hachiman Shrine itself reveals as much, if not more, about the Kamakura era as the horseback archery displays. Built in 1063 in what is now the center of Kamakura by the Minamoto clan, the shrine’s giant, vermillion-lacquered torii gateway that leads into the spacious shrine grounds speaks of the Minamoto’s power and prestige. Meanwhile, the brutality of the period is highlighted in the symbolism of one of the ornamental ponds, whose four islands represent the death of the clan’s enemies.

While Tsurugaoka Hachiman Shrine could fairly claim to be the highlight of Kamakura’s 80 or so temples and shrines, many of the others are well worthy of a visit, too. North of the shrine, toward Kita Kamakura Station, are three temples that are especially worth a look.

First is Kencho Temple. Established in 1253, it is Japan’s oldest Zen training monastery and known for its blend of Chinese and Japanese Zen architectural styles. Further north, on opposite sides of the station, are Engaku Temple and Tokei Temple. The latter was founded as a nunnery in the 13th century and served as a retreat for abused wives, but nowadays it is known for its variety of seasonal flowers that bloom through much of the year.

If you visit in September, you’ll see moonflowers, while October means Japanese anemone, which are replaced by gentian in early November, before the trees don their fall colors from late November. Engaku Temple’s draw is the grand architecture of its structures like the two-storey sanmon gateway, set among cedars.

Away from the temples and shrines, Kamakura offers plenty else to explore. Over in Hase, a few stations away on the quaint Enoshima Electric Railway, or Enoden, is one of Japan’s most famous sights: the 13-meter Daibutsu (Great Buddha) at Kotoku Temple.

Possibly covered in gold leaf when it was built in the 1250s, the Daibutsu nowadays is a weathered blend of grays, greens and blues after the structure in which it was housed was destroyed by a tsunami in 1495. There isn’t much else to see at the temple, but the meditating figure is reason enough to head to Hase.

With wooded hills on several sides, the Kamakura area is also fun and not too demanding to hike. Rather than take the Enoden to Hase, you could take the wooded trail that runs from Jochi Temple (near Tokei Temple) to Kotoku Temple.

The perfect place to refuel along the way is Itsuki Garden, a charming, brick-terraced café in verdant surroundings, not far from the Daibutsu. The biggest challenge will be leaving this idyllic spot and finishing your hike.

Another pleasant trail starts at Kencho Temple and winds its way through Kamakura’s eastern hills, passing a few tomb caves along the way, before arriving at Zuisen Temple in the east of the city.

And if you’re looking for a break from the temple-hopping crowds, Yuigahama beach, south of Kotoku Temple, is ideal for a sunset stroll.

Kamakura Samurai Archery Ceremony Tour
Oct 4
10am–3:30pm
¥2,000* (excludes lunch and transportation)
Ages 13 and above
Sign up online or at Member Services
*Excludes 8 percent consumption tax.

Words: Rob Goss