1 Day Trip to Kamakura and Enoshima : Shrines, Seaside, Temples and Tea

Enjoy a day trip from Tokyo in the neighbouring prefecture of Kanagawa, and explore two of its hotspots Kamakura and Enoshima!

Kamakura is a popular day trip to do during your trip to Tokyo as it’s only just over 60 minutes away from Shinjuku station. This tour is a great opportunity to venture out and see a different part of Japan but with the ease of still being close to the city! Japanese locals especially love Kamakura and Enoshima due to its close proximity to the sea! So why don’t you take a break from the skyscrapers and bustling Metropolis of Tokyo, and come experience this slice of paradise!

The tour will provide guests with a well balanced itinerary including shrines and temples, food and drink, iconic local transport, nature and an observatory.

On the tour you will learn all about Kamakura’s past and significance at its many shrines and temples, experience a traditional Japanese matcha and sweet experience in a Bamboo forest, feed Japanese Koi Carp, and walk Kamakura’s popular shopping street lined with restaurants, street food vendors and local crafts. In Enoshima, you will ride the iconic local train ’Enoden’ beloved by locals, take a walk along its beautiful coastline and finally go onto Enoshima island to see its shrine and observatory overlooking all of Kamakura and the sea!

HIGHLIGHTS

• The opportunity to have a traditional matcha and Japanese sweet experience in a Bamboo forest and temple!
  
• Feed Japanese Koi in a beautiful Japanese garden and pond!

• See the Great Buddha of Kamakura and go inside this amazing statue!
  
• Ride the iconic ’Enoden’ train through the picturesque streets and alongside the sea!
  
• Go to the top of Enoshima Island’s observatory and take in panoramic views of the sea of Japan and the coastline!
  

DESCRIPTION

The tour will begin at 08:00am outside of Shinjuku station where you will meet your tour guide. You will meet outside of Shinjuku station’s SOUTH GATE. Once everybody has arrived, you will officially start the tour and your tour guide will escort you to the first destination!

We will board the train from Shinjuku departing for Fujisawa station. The journey will take approximately 60 minutes. From there we will hop on the iconic local train travelling to Kamakura station known as Enoden by the locals. This quaint train car makes you feel like you’ve stepped back in time to a retro era gone by, and is an attraction in itself for the Kamakura area!

Once we have arrived at Kamakura station, we will begin walking to our first destination, a beautiful temple tucked away from central Kamakura famed for its stunning bamboo forest, statues and tea house. The walk will take approximately 30 minutes, where you will walk along a river and pass by many traditional houses. At the temple, your guide will tell you about the temple’s history and significance, as well as the importance of tea culture and the tea ceremony in Japan. We will walk around the temple grounds, and then you will experience a matcha and wasanbon (traditional Japanese sweet) experience in the Temple tea house overlooking the bamboo forest. Slowly sip your matcha and enjoy the tranquil atmosphere.

After the temple, we will walk for 20 minutes back to central Kamakura and to our second destination, a famous shrine in the heart of Kamakura. Famed for its large red Torii gate and beautiful bridges as you enter the shrine complex. Here, we will spend 30 minutes learning about the Shrine’s history and feeding the resident Koi in the Shrine’s pond!

Next, we will take a short walk of 5 minutes to the main shopping and eating district of Kamakura! Here your guide will give you an introduction to the area and recommend local foods to try! This is also where you will have your lunch break, so please enjoy your free time exploring, trying street food and picking up the perfect souvenir of your day! There is so much choice, from sweet treats to savoury items to tempt you!

After your lunch break, we will take a walk to our fourth destination and probably the most famous in all of Kamakura! A temple known for its great Buddha statue in the centre of the temple complex! As part of the tour, you will be able to enter the great Buddha and feel the amazing power and scale of the statue and see the giant ’Waraji’ (sandals of the Buddha!)

It is now time to venture over to Enoshima island! We will take a short walk of 5 minutes from the temple to Hase train station to get back on the Enoden train. The journey will take approximately 23 minutes to arrive in Enoshima! However, the views on this train journey are truly breathtaking. The train winds around the picturesque streets like a snake and alongside the sea, where you can watch the ocean, people surfing and locals enjoying the beach.

Once we have arrived in Enoshima, we will walk along its beautiful stretch of coastline. Very popular with local people and tourists alike, this stretch of coastline offers the best views of Enoshima island and on very fair weather days you can see Mount Fuji! On Enoshima Island, we will visit Enoshima Shrine and its Observatory to take in panoramic views of the Pacific ocean and Japanese coastline!

After the relaxing walk along the sea, and after enjoying the views at the top of Enoshima shrine and observatory, we will walk back to Katase Enoshima station. Depending on the time of year, we may catch the sunset as we leave Enoshima island! We will then get a train back to Fujisawa station and board our train back to Shinjuku! So sit back, relax and enjoy the return journey.

MEETUP POINT

Outside Shinjuku Station South Gate Baskin ROBBINS @ 08:00am

You will meet your tour guide outside of Shinjuku Station’s South Gate Baskin Robbins. You will recognise the South Gate entrance as it has many ’Lumine 2’ signs across the station entrance building. You will meet your tour guide outside of the Baskin Robbins ice cream shop directly outside of the station entrance. Please look out for the tour guide with a ’Snow Monkey Resorts’ sign. Once everybody has met, we will enter Shinjuku station together to begin the tour.

NOTES

Included 

• Enoshima Kamakura Freepass to cover all your transport for the tour

• Bamboo Temple admission fee and, tea and sweet experience

• Japanese Koi feeding fee

•  Great Buddha temple admission fee and entrance fee to go inside of the Great Buddha

• Enoshima island escalators and observatory admission fees
  
• Local English speaking guide

Excluded

• Trains and transport before and after the tour

• Additional food and drink

OTHER INFORMATION

• We recommend that you book this tour as far in advance as possible and provide us with no less than 1 weeks (7 days) notice of your tour booking so that the necessary preparations can be made in advance.
  
• Due to this tour using public transport, timings are subject to some change if traffic is poor or the day of travel is particularly busy. 
  
• This tour involves several hours of walking in the outdoors. We recommend that you wear sensible shoes and clothes which are easy to walk in. Please check the weather forecast before you head to the meetup point and prepare an umbrella or rain coat if necessary.

• There will be free time on the lunch break for guests to enjoy the location at their own pace. However, please make sure that you are at the respective meetup points at the time stated by your guide on the day of the tour. If you get lost or need assistance, feel free to call the number which is listed on your tour pass, and our staff will assist you immediately.

• Due to this being a walking tour, it is advised that you do not bring any luggage or large bags with you on the tour. It is advised that you check if your hotel can store your luggage for you until after the tour, or you store your luggage at lockers at a suitable location such as selected train stations with appropriate storage. For example, many stations in Tokyo will have lockers, especially the larger train stations such as Shinjuku, Shibuya and Tokyo.