Walking in the Old Capital Kamakura Part 2

June is a rainy season in Japan (except for Hokkaido where there is no rainy season).  It is also a month of hydrangea and I hope to visit Hase-dera Temple one day in June to see the hydrangea.  The temple is also known as Ajisai-dera which means the Temple of Hydrangea.  Instead of June, I visited there in April.  It was good enough even without hydrangea as you can admire deep green and a good view of the sea.

Hase-dera is near from the Big Buddha of Kamakura.  You can meet many small buddhas in this temple some of which have smiling faces, some of which gather closely in one place.  There is a cave in this temple and if you go inside, there again you can see buddhas.  Some of them are very small – they were put by worshippers to play for good health, good fortune, happiness, peace and so on.

Hase-dera Temple

Hase-dera Temple

From the hill in this temple, there is a good view of the sea.

View from Hase-dera Temple

As I wrote above, Hase-dera is famous for its hydrangea.  The temple has 40 different kinds of hydrangea and there are as many as 2,500 plants.  It seems there might be an entrance restriction at the peak time.

For More Information on Hase-dera Temple

Address: 11-2 Hase 3-chome, Kamakura City, Kanagawa

Opening Hours: 8:00am – 5:00pm (until 4:30pm during October and February)

Admission: ¥300 for adults and ¥100 for elementary school students

Access: Take Enoden from Kamakura Station of JR Yokosuka Line and get of at Hase Station.  From Hase Station, five-minute walk to the temple.

URL: http://www.hasedera.jp/en/

From Hase-dera Temple, it’s an easy walk to Yuigahama Beach.  From the beach, you can see another beach of Zushi where there are many yachts.

Yachts floating in the sea of Zushi

Kamakura is a historic city of old capital of Japan and there are many old temples and shrines.  At the same time, there are several beaches around here including Yuigahama Beach and Zushi I mentioned above.  It is a popular place to enjoy marine sports.