Kanagawa · KamakuraNo.144★★Open in map →
Tsurugaoka Hachimangu
— Kamakura's founding shrine
The chief shrine of Kamakura and of the Minamoto samurai clan, best approached along the Dankazura — a raised cherry-tree walkway that runs up the centre of the main avenue toward the shrine hall.
Tsurugaoka Hachimangu is the guardian shrine of Kamakura, which the Minamoto — the samurai clan then ruling Japan — built as the spiritual heart of their warrior capital. Its grand approach, Wakamiya Oji, runs from Yuigahama beach straight to the shrine. Along the central stretch sits the Dankazura, a raised stone-paved walkway roughly 500 metres long and lined with cherry trees. At the end, the grounds open onto a broad staircase that climbs to the upper main hall, the Hon-gu. The shrine honours Hachiman, the Shinto deity regarded as patron of the Minamoto clan and of samurai in general, and it remains one of the most visited Shinto shrines in the Kanto region.
Background & history
The shrine was first founded in 1063 by Minamoto no Yoriyoshi and was moved to its present site and greatly enlarged in 1180 by Minamoto no Yoritomo, founder of the Kamakura shogunate. In 1182 Yoritomo had the Dankazura walkway built as a sacred approach, reportedly praying for the safe childbirth of his wife, Hojo Masako. A great ginkgo tree that stood beside the main staircase for centuries fell in March 2010. A popular tale ties this tree to the 1219 assassination of the shogun Sanetomo on those steps, though that link is a later embellishment from the Edo period.
What to look for — in walking order
- Wakamiya Oji avenue
- the wide ceremonial avenue running from the seaside, marked by torii gateways
- The Dankazura
- a raised central walkway about 500 metres long, framed by roughly 200 cherry trees — the formal line of approach to the shrine
- The twin ponds
- the Genji and Heike ponds beside the approach, named after the rival Minamoto and Taira clans of the 12th century
- Hon-gu staircase
- the broad flight of stone steps rising to the upper main hall at the head of the grounds
How to enjoy it
Walk up the Dankazura rather than the parallel souvenir street, Komachi-dori, to take the shrine's intended line of approach from the sea. In cherry-blossom season — usually late March to early April — the walkway becomes a tunnel of blossoms. The shrine grounds open around 5:00 (6:00 from October to March), and shops on Komachi-dori mostly open around 10:00, so an early-morning visit finds the approach at its most peaceful.
How to actually get there
- Tokyo Station → Kamakura Station (JR Yokosuka Line, direct, ~55 min).
- Leave by the East Exit and step onto the Dankazura — the raised central walkway, not Komachi-dori beside it.
- Walk the Dankazura about 500 metres north to the main gate, then climb the stone steps to the Hon-gu main hall.
- JR Yokosuka Line from Tokyo Station
- Tokyo Station →(JR Yokosuka Line, direct, ~55 min)→ Kamakura Station. Total about 55 min, 1040 yen, no transfer. Trains run often, roughly every 10-15 minutes in the daytime. Leave from the East Exit of Kamakura Station: the Dankazura, the raised central walkway, begins directly in front, and you walk north about 500 metres to the main gate.
- same JR Yokosuka Line back to Tokyo
- Return on the JR Yokosuka Line from Kamakura Station to Tokyo Station (~55 min). Trains run frequently through the day and into the evening, and no booking is needed, so you can leave whenever you finish. Check the return times on the platform display when you arrive.
Before you go
- Cash
- On JR trains you can tap an IC card (Suica or PASMO) or buy a paper ticket at the machine. The shrine grounds are free to enter. A treasure museum inside the precinct charges a separate admission.
- Closing days
- The shrine grounds open around 5:00 (6:00 from October to March). Shops on Komachi-dori, the souvenir street, mostly open around 10:00, so an early-morning visit finds that street still shuttered and the Dankazura quiet.
- Another way
- You can also start one stop north at Kita-Kamakura Station on the same Yokosuka Line, then walk south past the temples Engaku-ji and Kencho-ji to reach the shrine from the hillside behind it.
- After you get off
- From the East Exit of Kamakura Station, the Dankazura (the raised central walkway) starts immediately in front and leads about 500 metres straight to the shrine gate — a flat, paved walk of roughly 8-10 minutes.