This 4-hour tour takes you to four major and popular tourist sites in Kamakura. Visit Kamakura Hachimangu Shrine to learn about Shintoism, (Japanese indigenous religion), and the culture and history of Kamakura Shogunate, (the first samurai government). Stroll Komachidori Street to enjoy foods and drinks as well as shopping. At Kotokuin Temple, see the great statue of Amida Buddha, and at Hasedera Temple, see the statue of eleven-headed Kannon to know more about Buddhism and it's statues.
At Old Station Clock Tower outside the west exit of Kamakura Station
Meeting at Old Station Clock Tower outside the west exit of the station
Visit Kamakura Hachimangu Shrine, which the first Shogun, Yoritomo, established. Learn about the history of Kamakura era (1195-1333) and experience some rituals of Shintoism.
Stroll the traditional and fashionable shopping mall. Enjoy eating and shopping some Kamakura's special foods and artifacts.
See the impressive and handsome image of Buddha sitting in the open air and learn about Buddhism in Kamakura era.
Walk around the beautiful and tranquil precinct of the temple and see the magnificent sculpture of eleven-headed Kannon.
At Kamakura Station
===1. Kamakura Hachimangu Shrine
Highlights: Learn about the history and culture of the first shogun's capital / Experience Shinto rituals / See the architecture of the shrine /
Draw omikuji (fortune telling sheet) with a charm (200 yen, optional)
===2. Komachidori Street
Take a tour of restaurants and food shops along the street to have lunch. Especially some Kamakura's specialties such as
Shirasu-don (a bowl of rice topped with young sardine and fresh seafood), Daibutsu-yaki (sponge cake shaped like Great
Buddha) and so on. Looking for souvenirs, like Kamakura-bori (Kamakura's wooden artifacts carved in relief), Hatosabure
(cookies shaped like a dove, the Hachimangu's symbol), etc.
===3. Kotokuin Temple (Admission fee=300 yen for adult, 150 yen for child)
Highlights: See the impressive body of the large stature of Amida Buddha / Learn the characteristics of each part of the image / Experience
the tour inside the body to learn more about its construction (Admission fee=50 yen: optional)
===4. Hasedera Temple (Admission fee=400 yen for adult, 200 yen for child)
Highlights: See the elegant and shining stature of 11-headed Kannon / Stroll the precinct of the temple designed like Pure Land /
Experience some Buddhist rituals for attaining enlightenment / See the view of Kamakura city and Yuigahama beach from the
observatory
guide fee, transportation fee of the guide
transportation fee, lunch, entrance fee
I have changed the day when I am available.
* This tour requires a long walk, so please wear comfortable shoes.
* Depending on the weather condition, the itinerary of the tour will be changed.
* According to your requests, the itinerary such as meeting place and time, the sites to visit can be flexibly changed.
Although one member of our Family is able to speak a basic level of Japanese, he had never been to Tokyo before. So having a private guide was the top reason why we booked this tour. Haruo was very responsive, both before and during the tour. Before our arrival, contacting us and confirming the sites we wanted to see. The morning of, we confused our start time to an earlier time and Haruo left his home early to get to us. He picked us up at the train station by our accommodations, which we greatly appreciated. We chose Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden, Tokyo Tower, lunch in the Shopping Mall at Ginza, Asakusa Sensoji Temple and Sumida river cruise. Unfortunately, the Garden was closed the day of our tour, so we went to see the giant Shinjuku 3D cat billboard! Since we chose attractions that were not close to each other, Haruo had to navigate the trains and subways for us, which even for a local can be confusing. Our Family has food issues - and Haruo spoke with the staff at the restaurant we chose on our behalf to ensure we could eat there without issue. And we did and it was a lovely lunch! One recommendation would be to select attractions that are closer to each other than we did. Especially if you haven't recovered from jet lag! I would highly recommend Haruo and this tour!
Dear Sharon Thank you for heartwarming review though I made some mistakes and confused you during the tour. This encourages me to improve my future tour. Take care of yourselves and enjoy the rest of summer. Haruo
We really enjoyed traveling to Kamakura and Yokosuka with Horuo. It was generally overcast (with a bit of rain) so we were often alone at some of the most popular tourist destinations in the area, and we were able to generally avoid the crowds with Haruo. Travel was very easy for us, and we learned a lot about Japan's history while on our adventures with him. Haruo is very knowledgeable about about the locations he took us to, and was able to bring each bridge and path to life with background we would have otherwise been oblivious to - stories of royalty, faith, assassination plot, wars, peace, and daily life for residents throughout history. There is so much we would have otherwise missed without Haruo, and we are deeply appreciative that we were able to share our travels with him.
Dear Trevis Thank you very much for your heartwarming review. This encourages me to improve my guiding. I was also very happy to have a tour with you. Please take care of yourselves. Best Regards Haruo
Haruo is a fantastic guide and educator who helped us get our bearings on our first day in Tokyo. While on an amazing tour of the imperial gardens (and an indoor 'open air' style Edo museum) we learned about the history of Tokyo and its people, we learned about basic etiquette (tipping, bowing, etc), and how to find what we would need during our 2 week stay. We learned the basics about Shintoism, a few important phrases, we got to try some really unique (and tasty) food, and he took some really great photos of us!
I'm sure you had spent a great time in your whole tour in Japan. Please take care of yourselves. Thank you again. Haruo
Haruo was a great choice for our first day in Tokyo. We knew we'd be wiped from the prior day of flying mentally, so setting up a tour with Haruo explaining all the ins and outs of shrines and how to use the subway was so helpful to get us started, plus we hit up a bunch of the big sites. Lots of history and info, more than happy to be flexible for the sights we wanted to see vs what we were not as interested in. Great guy, great tour, highly recommend!
Dear Elisa and Charles Thank you so much for your kind review. That encourages me to improve my tour from now on. It is not you but me that learned a lot about the culture of your country. Especially, talking about your hometown Seatle made me remember sweet memories of my trip and want to come back there. I believe you had a great time after our tour. Thank you again and take care of yourselves. Best Regards, Haruo