Kamakura
 

How long would you recommend to allot for Kamakura? I'm hoping it can be done in half a day. Is this realistic? Thanks.

Yes..

No...

No, if you are staying at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. :)

Seriously, where in Japan (which I am assuming you will be in Japan since this is Japan forum) are you staying? Even from Tokyo half a day will only give enough time to take a quick look at one or two sights in Kamakura. There are more than that at Kamakura.

I'll be staying in Tokyo for 48 hours, so a quick trip there. I was thinking if I went it would be directly after the fish market leaving there at 7am. If it was between going there and seeing a couple of sights or the Edo Museum/Imperial Palace before afternoon (undecided yet) activities.
Thanks for your feedback, and you're staying in Ethiopia would be too far. :)

4 hours and 37 minutes.

What do you want to do?

Would you like a rickshaw tour?

Would you like to see the Great Buddha?

Would you like to see the Five Gozan temples of Kamakura?

Would you like to ride the Enoden train that travels along the oceanside and through the middle of city streets?

Would you like to sample one of several fantastic pizza joints that have sprung up in the area in recent years?

Would you like to go windsurfing?

Would you like to go hiking on one of several hiking trails?

Would you like a guided tour in English by one of the volunteers at Kamakura station?

Would you like to wash your money for luck in Zeniarai Benten?

Would you like to see all the shops on Komachi Dori? Or in Hase?

Would you like to partake in zazen session at Engakuji?

What do you want to do?

Yes - it can be done in half-day, or one can decide to spend a whole day. A really abridged version is to just head to Hase to check out the Buddha and also the nearby Hase Temple. Then back over to the Kamakura Station area to browse the nearby shopping street. And then back to Tokyo. All of that can easily be done within 5-6hr, including the travel time to/from Tokyo. That is a really abridged version, but at least you get to see the Buddha, see a couple of interesting temples, and see some unique shops.

You mentioned half a day trip to Kamakura so I am assuming that you want to be back at Tokyo around 12 noon – 1 p.m.

There is a direct train from Tokyo station to Kamakura station, the train ride is about 55 minutes from Tokyo station to Kamakura station, fare is JYP 890. There is a train depart Tokyo station at 7:12 a.m. and arrive at Kamakura station 8:07 a.m. Little caution, trains to Kamakura depart from underground platform at Tokyo station which takes little time to get there from the ground level. I will be at Tokyo station more than 10 minutes before departure to make sure.

I will list two top tourist sights in Kamakura: Kamakura Daibutsu (Great Buddha, 鎌倉大仏) which is located at a temple called Kotokuinn (高徳院), another is Tsuruoka Hachimann Guu (Hachimann shrine or Tsuruoka shrine,　鶴岡八幡宮).

The temple for Great Buddha opens for public at 8 a.m. It is 10 minute bus ride from Kamakura station, or you transfer to another train at Kamakura station, Enoden, and get off at third station from Kamakura station, Hase station (about 7 minutes ride). Then 7 minutes walk from Hase station to Great Buddha. Realistically speaking you want to see 20 minutes plus to get from Kamakura station to Great Buddha, because you can easily wait 5-10 minutes for next bus or train.

Tsuruoka shrine is 10 minutes walk from Kamakura station, which opens for public at 8:30 a.m. I think getting from Great Buddha to Tsuruoka shrine can take around 30 munities or more.

May be you start to get the picture. You will not have a lot of time to see each places and soon it will be 11 a.m., time to head back to Tokyo.

Also, if you are wake from early morning to see the fish market at Tsukiji, then it is also likely that you may start to feel tired and sleepy before 12 noon. I think something to think about…

It takes an hour to get there, an hour to get back, and hour to get between sights, and suddenly all you have is 45 hours in Tokyo. If you only have 48 hours (and I assume you haven't seen much of Tokyo before) I'd recommend you stay in the big.

I have eight days in Tokyo coming up in October and I'm having a hard time trying to fit in a day in Kamakura.

Tsukiji fish market
Kamakura
Edo tokyo museum, Imperial Palace
Afternoon activities

In one day? It sounds like a mini around the world in 80 days.
To and from Kamakura, take the green car for yourself.

Green Car will be additional JPY 950 each way if you buy a ticket prior to boarding at the station. Additional JPY 1200 each way if you buy a ticket onboard the train from the conductor. :)

Agreed :). To the OP. Unless you have been in Tokyo before - or there is something in Kamakura you absolutely positively want to/have to see - I would spend my 48 hours in Tokyo.

BTW - is there any particular reason you chose the Westin Ebisu? I was there (Ebisu) for the first time on this - my second trip to Tokyo - for lunch - and found it somewhat out of the way in terms of the sightseeing I've enjoyed. If you think of a big clock - Ebisu is about 8-9 on the dial - and a place like Asakusa is about 2 on the dial. Ginza/Tsukiji is about 3 on the dial.

Also - what time of year will you be going? I think the Imperial Palace area is great during cherry blossom season. Otherwise only worth a quick walk through.

FWIW - we spent about 2 hours in the Edo Museum (about 3 on the clock). Didn't see it all. Our legs/feet gave out. Robyn

Sorry, bad phrasing. I meant either Kamakura or Edo-Toyko Museum and Imperial Palace. I was trying to figure out which one to put in the morning after the early start at the fish market. Even with a good pair of sneakers on and lots of Red Bull I don't think I could pull that off.

Hailstorm-The answer is yes to all the questions, until I realize my day is only 24 hours. I appreciate the questions as I didn't realize of them were an option.

When reading about Toyko and the area, there were several mentions of the Giant Buddha and sounded like a good sight and a change from the business of Tokyo. The reviews on the Edo-Tokyo museum are great, but I just can't get excited about it for some reason. Where I think the Imperial Palace would be interesting, but hear mixed reviews on that.

Robyng- I'm at the Westin due to a Starwood discount. I'll be in Tokyo October 3-5, so no cherry blossoms for me. I think my brother will be there for it though.

Thanks for all the thoughts on this. Just want to make sure I don't "waste" my little time there. Is there a place you would recommend to go at, like a bar? I'll be traveling as a single woman with a couple of nights without the kid, so I feel like I should take advantage of it. To answer the next thought, yes I plan to be exhausted as soon as I step on the plane.

I wouldn't suggest the Imperial Palace or the Edo Tokyo museum for anyone's first visit with just 24 hours. However, if Kamakura has drawn your attention over and above all the other attractions of Tokyo, why not ?

As for where to go in the evening.
I used to love the club scene in Tokyo, music is fantastic. It is expensive but comparable to London yet with much cleaner, cooler venues and the ladies' toilets remain inviting well into the wee hours. No matter where in the world I've ever been I've always found it easy to connect with people when out dancing, female and male. YMMV.
Or...
Rather than bars why not sample food at the same time and go to an izakaya. Since I appreciate that language might be intimidating you could perhaps go to this place
http://www.andysfish.com/Shin-Hinomoto
It's not a British izakaya, it is an izakaya where the owner just happens to be British. Once you visit, hopefully you will feel more confident about popping into other izakaya in the same area, this part of Tokyo would be a lovely place to spend the evening and it's very likely you'll come across people you can talk to.

+1

Anybody up to date on the current club scene? What's popular these days?

The correct Japanese name for 鶴岡八幡宮 is 'Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū' though it is sometimes referred to (especially on the web) as 'Tsuruoka Hachiman-gū'.

The Great Buddha and the Hachimangu Shrine are both popular but it seems a shame to go all the way to Kamakura and not visit some of the temples. There are too many to choose from but for convenience I would recommend Engaku-ji (円覚寺) which is close to Kita-Kamakura station, one stop before Kamakura on the Yokosuka Line. There are other temples nearby as you will see on this Japan Guide map.

Another well-known temple, Hase-dera (長谷寺) is not far from the Great Buddha.

The Great Buddha is inside of Kotokuin Temple (高徳院). :p

Yes. ;) Though it's nice not to have to share the place with busloads of tourists. :p

Last time I went to 円覚寺 it was during the cherry blossom season but once you walked 5 minutes from the entrance the place was very quiet. I walked from Kita-Kamakura via Engaku-ji and Kenchō-ji (建長寺) to Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū, then along the crowded Dankazura (段葛) footpath to Kamakura station followed by some souvenir shopping along Komachi-dori (小町通り). The whole thing could easily be done in a morning. I could have gone to the Great Buddha afterwards if I wanted to.

Every hard core Kamakura fan needs to pick up a copy of Kamakura: Fact and Fiction by Iso Mutsu. Woefully out of date, but still the best way to understand the temples without becoming fluent in Japanese.

My favorite temple is Zuisenji (瑞泉寺), but way too far out of the way for a half day trip.

http://www.kamakura-zuisenji.or.jp/en/

Early October might be a little early for chrysanthemum season in Tokyo - but Mother Nature is never exactly on schedule. See what the story is when you travel. Flowers in Japan in season are quite beautiful.

Since you're staying at the Westin - I would perhaps check out the Rouge Bar at the Robuchon Chateau in your neck of the woods. It looked quite intimate to me (although it was closed at lunch when we dined there). Proper for a middle-aged or so woman as well. If I were alone in Tokyo - like on a business trip - I wouldn't hesitate having a drink there (and perhaps some food as well).

I really enjoyed the Edo Museum - especially the part that dealt with contemporary history (20th century). It's close to the shrine at Asakusa (must see IMO).

Also relatively close to the fish market (you can take a boat trip from near the fish market to Asakusa - it's a nice ride IMO - and you can rest your feet).

Also close to Kappabashi Dori - the part of Tokyo where there are lots of kitchenware/knife/plastic food stores. Excellent area to explore if you're into those kinds of things.

The things in that general part of the "clock" would easily be more than a full day for me. Robyn

There's plenty in Tokyo that doesn't look like Generic International Business Land, but taking a day trip to Kamakura is a good way to escape the central city. By this point, Kamakura is part of the Tokyo-Yokohama-Chiba megalopolis, but it is a small enclave with a different feel.

You might want to read up on the Kamakura Period (1185-1334) in Japanese history, when Kamakura was the shogun's capital. That will help you understand what you are seeing.

Kamakura is really worth the trek, IMHO the only "must see" destination in the greater Tokyo area. ;)

I did visit Enoshima and Kamakura and spent probably an afternoon in the area, like between 10am returning Tokyo by 6pm. Depending on the season, I would probably visit different sights, and when I visited, the Hase-dera gardens were in bloom during springtime. There are indeed plenty to explore in Kamakura but if you are hoping to explore in half a day, it is still possible to do so.

There is a link to a model course by Odakyu Railway here: Enoshima-Kamakura Model Course

And if you wanted to know more about my experience, I wrote a blog post about my stop there.

I like hikes but I'm not a big fan of temples as I grew up around them (and have been to the Buddha in Hongkong), so Kamakura was not very fun for me. I did enjoy the scenery of the Pacific Ocean though.

I like hikes and have visited Kamakura several times without visiting temples. I love the Pacific views, the 1950s (Showa) vibe of the town and the change in pace to Central Tokyo - quite a few surfers live and visit here. Had one of my best Christmas days in Kamakura; a delicious paella for lunch (a paella I would happily recommend to other arroz savvy Valencians) and we allowed our stomachs to settle watching Kites (the bird kind) circling and soaring at the beach. Very easy to spend an enjoyable day or half day in Kamakura without visiting any of the temples.