Kamakura

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Kamakura Travel Guide

City Map

City Introduction

Kamakura is a historically interesting city located south of the Tokyo-Yokohama metropolitan area. Kamakura was the de facto capital of Japan during the Minamoto dynasty, which ruled from 1192-1333, a time also known as the Kamakura period. The Kamakura shōgunate had its seat in the city, which thereby grew as the center of the country’s feudal military government. Kyoto was the imperial city and formally the capital of Japan, but under the shogunate Kamakura became the largest city in the country for a time.

Kamakura’s shōguns laid out the city as a traditional Japanese imperial city, with a central street called Suzaku Ōji (朱雀大路) leading from south to north, with the palace as the center of a capital city. This type of town plan was established in Kamakura with the 1,800-meter long Wakamiya Ōji (若宮大路) street leading in a straight line north to Tsurugaoka Hachimangū (鶴岡八幡宮), the city’s main Shinto shrine. Tsurugaoka Hachimangū thereby resembles the position of a palace, and the shrine is also one of Kamakura’s attractions.

Tsurugaoka Hachimangū was founded in 1063 as a Shinto shrine dedicated to Emperor Ōjin, who as a kami was named Hachiman, but it later also served as a Tendai Buddhist temple until the Meiji separation of Shinto and Buddhism. It was Minamoto no Yoritomo, who founded the Kamakura shōgunate, who, upon moving the shrine to its current location in 1191, invited Hachiman to protect his rule. The current location was carefully chosen as the most auspicious after consulting a spiritual advisor. There was a mountain to the north, a river to the east, a great road to the west and open country to the south. Each direction was protected by a god: Genbu guarded the north, Seiryū the east, Byakko the west, and Suzaku the south. And despite all the changes the shrine has undergone over the years, Yoritomo’s design is still intact.

The Tsurugaoka Hachimangū Shrine itself was built as a classic Shinto shrine, and there are three torii as entrance gates to the area. The torii stand along the access road, sandō (参道), and especially the section between the 2nd and 3rd torii called dankazura (段葛) is a beautiful part. After the third and innermost torii there are three parallel bridges, one of which is arched while the others are flat. Historically, only the shōgun passed the arched bridge. Continuing north, you come to the music pavilion named Maiden (舞殿), where music, dancing and weddings took place. After this, you can see the small shrine, Wakamiya (若宮), behind the Maiden, and the large and main shrine, Hongū (本宮), as the central facility in the area. Hongū is 61 steps above the rest of the complex and dates to 1828, when shōgun Tokugawa Ienari had it built in the Hachiman-zukuri style.

Another of the city’s major attractions is the Buddhist temple Kotoku-in (鎌倉大仏殿高徳院), where you can see Kamakura’s famous Buddha statue, Kamakura Daibutsu (鎌倉大仏), which dates from the mid-13th century. The large bronze Buddha has a pedestal over 13 meters high, and it was originally gilded and placed in a temple. Over time, storms have destroyed the building around the Buddha several times, but they stopped rebuilding it in 1498, and since then the statue has been outside in the open. And the Buddha has become one of Japan’s best-known landmarks.

Other Attractions

Day Trips

Yokohama, Japan

Yokohama

Yokohama is a city that has almost grown together with Tokyo, and is Japan’s second largest city. Yokohama was a small fishing town until the mid-1800s, when the city was opened to foreign trade as one of the first when the isolationist foreign policy, Sakoku (鎖国), was abolished in 1853. After that, Yokohama grew rapidly, and the city gained among second Japan’s first Chinatown, first railway station, power station and gas lamps in the streets for signs of the hasty development.

More about Yokohama

 

Tokyo, Japan

Tokyo

Tokyo is one of the world’s largest metropolises, and certainly one of the most fascinating with the mix of centuries-old Japanese traditions and modern Japan’s success, architecture and common use of technology that you will easily notice as a tourist.

There are approximately 30 million people living in the Tokyo-Yokohama area, and the vibrant street life is 24/7 in several places. Shopping and restaurants offering the tasty Japanese cuisine are of course great ways to enjoy Tokyo, as is walking the streets getting impressions.

More about Tokyo

 

Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park, Japan

Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park

Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park is an area of ​​1,227 square kilometers, located between the big cities of Tokyo and Nagoya. There is great variety in the nature and attractions of the national park, which spans such diverse areas as Mount Fuji/Fujisan (富士山), Fuji’s Five Lakes/Fuji-goko (富士五湖), the city of Hakone/Hakone-machi (箱根町) , Izu Peninsula/Izu-hantō (伊豆半島) and Izu Islands/Izu-shotō (伊豆諸島).

More about Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park

Geolocation

In short

Kamakura, Japan Kamakura, Japan[/caption]

Overview of Kamakura

Kamakura is a historically interesting city located south of the Tokyo-Yokohama metropolitan area. The city was the de facto capital of Japan during the Minamoto dynasty, which ruled from 1192-1333, a time also known as the period. The shōgunate had its seat in the city, which thereby grew as the center of the country’s feudal military government. Kyoto was the imperial city and formally the capital of Japan, but under the shogunate Kamakura became the largest city in the country for a time.

About the Kamakura travel guide

Contents: Tours in the city + tours in the surrounding area
Published: Released soon
Author: Stig Albeck
Publisher: Vamados.com
Language: English

About the travel guide

The Kamakura travel guide gives you an overview of the sights and activities of the Japanese city. Read about top sights and other sights, and get a tour guide with tour suggestions and detailed descriptions of all the city’s most important churches, monuments, mansions, museums, etc.

Kamakura is waiting for you, and at vamados.com you can also find cheap flights and great deals on hotels for your trip. You just select your travel dates and then you get flight and accommodation suggestions in and around the city.

Read more about Kamakura and Japan

Japan Travel Guide: https://vamados.com/japan
City tourism: https://visitkama-kura.jp
Main Page: https://www.vamados.com/

Buy the travel guide

Click the “Add to Cart” button to purchase the travel guide. After that you will come to the payment, where you enter the purchase and payment information. Upon payment of the travel guide, you will immediately receive a receipt with a link to download your purchase. You can download the travel guide immediately or use the download link in the email later.

Use the travel guide

When you buy the travel guide to Kamakura you get the book online so you can have it on your phone, tablet or computer – and of course you can choose to print it. Use the maps and tour suggestions and you will have a good and content-rich journey.

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