The names Kamakura and Enoshima have become familiar to people in Hong Kong in recent years—from an obscure place to a well-known destination. Kamakura is a small city just about an hour’s drive from Tokyo, and a place where you can pause and forget the hustle and bustle of daily life.
From Shinjuku, you can take the rapid train on the Shōnan-Shinjuku Line, or go directly from Tokyo on the Yokosuka Line. The journey takes approximately one hour, and during the morning rush hour, trains can be quite crowded, so finding a seat might not be guaranteed.
Currently, Kamakura is a small city with a population of just 180,000 (slightly less than Ma On Shan), yet it attracts nearly 21.96 million visitors each year. It was once the political center where the Minamoto clan established their shogunate and governed the nation, marking the first time samurai seized power from the aristocracy and stepped onto the historical stage.
The main shopping street in Kamakura is Komachi Street, located between Kamakura Station and Tsurugaoka Hachimangū. Along the way, you’ll find numerous specialty food shops and souvenir stores, making it perfect for leisure travelers who enjoy eating, playing, and shopping.
At the end of Komachi Street lies Tsurugaoka Hachimangū. In addition to worshipping the goddess Hime no Kami, the shrine also honors Emperor Ōjin and Empress Jingū. In Shinto belief, deifying deceased members of the imperial family is also a method of consolidating political power.
At the same time, Emperor Ōjin is regarded as the guardian deity of soldiers and was highly revered by the ruling shogunate of the time.
After visiting the shrine, return to Kamakura Station and transfer to the Enoden train heading toward Enoshima.
The Enoden is a streetcar that runs from Kamakura to Fujisawa. Due to its proximity to the sea, many of its stations offer beautiful ocean views, and the train often runs close to the coastline, creating postcard-worthy scenes. As a result, it has become one of Japan’s, and even the world’s, most scenic railway lines.Since each station has its own worthwhile sights, I recommend purchasing the Enoden’s one-day pass for just ¥600, which allows unlimited rides. You’ll likely break even after just two or three trips.
During the Kamakura period (approximately from the Southern Song to the Yuan Dynasty), Buddhism flourished, and there are many Buddhist temples of various sects around Kamakura. Among them, the most popular is Kōtoku-in. After getting off at Hase Station, it’s just an 8-minute walk to reach Kōtoku-in, and not long after entering the temple grounds, you’ll see the world-famous Great Buddha of Kamakura.
In the Kamakura area, many restaurants serve dishes featuring a type of white fish called shirasu. Preparations include tempura-style mixes or served with soba noodles. Whether it’s tasty or not varies by personal preference, but it is one of the freshest and most distinctive local ingredients.
Kamakura High School Station is probably the most famous station, as its scenery once appeared in the opening scene of the anime *Slam Dunk*. It’s also one of the few spots along the Enoden where you can see trains running along the Shōnan coast.
We arrived at Enoshima around 4:30 PM, so we only took a short stroll along the main street of the island and didn’t explore all the nearby attractions.
The reason for not staying too long on Enoshima was to head to Zushi Megasaki Coast to catch the sunset. Zushi Megasaki is a very famous scenic spot in Kanagawa Prefecture, and one of the few places where you can see Mount Fuji at sunset.
As the sun slowly descended, the silhouette of Mount Fuji became even more distinct.
Although the scenery was incredibly romantic, the one thing to watch out for is not to eat here, as falcons and hawks will try to snatch your food. During our visit, one tourist was actually scratched by one.
The originally gray sky was suddenly illuminated by the sunset glow. Fortunately, we stayed until the very end.
Kamakura and Enoshima don’t have the intense urban vibe of Tokyo. Just a one-hour train ride can take you away from the hustle and bustle—Isn’t that the kind of trip people from Hong Kong hope for?