Within my weeklong vacation in Tokyo, I did a day trip to Kamakura which is about 1.5 hours away by local trains. It turned out to be an unforgettable highlight of the entire trip.
I was warned by my Japanese acquaintance to avoid the weekend crowd, but as weather and fate intervened, I had no choice but to fix it on a Saturday. Thankfully, I went early and reached Kamakura around 8am – there were few people in sight at that hour.
1. Breakfast at Breeze Bird Café & Bakery
Most of the itinerary was already planned, including my breakfast spot at Breeze Bird Café & Bakery (3 Chome-4-5 Yuigahama, Kamakura, Kanagawa 248-0014, Japan). The full review can be found in my previous blog post, but to summarise, I had arguably the best brunch experience in Japan (so far) here.
2. Bread and Pastries at Bread, Espresso &
A 2-3 mins walk away was my second café stop of the day – Bread, Espresso, & (1 Chome-10-5 Yuigahama, Kamakura, Kanagawa 248-0014, Japan). This is a popular chain bakery with several branches all over Japan, with the branch in Kamakura being a relatively recent addition. The café took over an old liquor and daily necessities store and maintained some of the elements of its predecessor such as the tobacco sales corner and red mailbox at the storefront. I highly recommend their French Toast, which was fluffy and moist especially in the middle.
3. Sightseeing at Yukinoshita
After 2 full solo breakfasts, I needed a long walk to aid digestion, so I took a 40mins walk, passing by the Yukinoshita area with ponds, shrines, museums, and a popular path with cherry blossoms. At late morning, lots of people, both tourists and locals alike, were already arriving via the main train station and pouring out into the streets.
4. Sightseeing at Hokai-ji Temple
Pictured above was another scenic cherry blossom spot I passed, which is also the entrance to Hokai-ji Buddhist Temple.
5. More Bread and Pastries at Okashi Nikaido
I then came to my third food stop of the day, Okashi Nikaido (27-10 Nikaidō, Kamakura, Kanagawa 248-0002, Japan). Serving homemade muffins, cookies, pound cakes and granola, this minimally designed, takeout bakery was a hidden gem. I got the seasonal Kumquat muffin and had it right outside while it was still warm. The muffin was fluffy and had chunks of kumquat within, with a good balance of sweet and citrus flavours. Honestly one of the best muffins I’ve had.
6. Shopping and Eating at Komachi-dori Street
I made my way back to Komachi-dori Street, the main shopping area of Kamkura with a huge stretch of street food souvenir stores. Surprisingly, I found no queue for Kamakura Warabimochi (1 Chome-6-8 Yukinoshita, Kamakura, Kanagawa 248-0005, Japan), so I quickly took the chance to finally try the warabimochi cup. Despite being extremely stuffed at that point in time, I was still impressed by the soft and silky mochi. I had to agree that the warabi mochi was higher in quality than the average one out there.
7. Taking the Enoden line train
Being a passenger on the decorated Enoden line trains is key to the entire experience in Kamakura – I got on board and went to Enoshima station, where I alighted and headed up to Enoshima Island. I also made a pit stop at Kamakurakokomae Station to have a look at the famous scene from Slam Dunk, but the throngs of tourists going against the traffic controller and disturbing the peace of the surrounding residential area really put me off and I left very soon.
8. Sightseeing, Shopping and Eating at Enoshima Island
The views of the sea from Enoshima Island were breathtaking, and well worth the long walk and climb up. Not just that, but there were also activities suited for different people – be it shopping at souvenir stores, trying shirasu dishes (popular delicacy here), praying at the temple or simply admiring the flowers and cherry blossoms.
9. Tea Break at Bills
In the later part of the day, I had a late lunch at Bills (Japan, 〒248-0026 Kanagawa, Kamakura, Shichirigahama, 1 Chome−1−1, Weekend House Alley, ２F), located along the coast of Shichirigahama Beach. With a direct view overlooking the beach from most seats, the restaurant was constantly packed and bookings are recommended.
Having already tried the signature ricotta hotcakes from the branch in Seoul, I went for a savoury dish instead – the Chilli Miso Salmon with Hot and Sour Aubergine which lived up to my standards.
10. Sunset at Shichirigahama Beach
I timed my meal such that I could catch the sunset just by the beach below the restaurant right after eating. Though the sky was not clear enough to get a view of Mount Fuji, I was contented to have caught a beautiful sunset before heading back to Tokyo. Minus the rowdy tourists (will not state their nationality), the Kamakura day trip was my kind of an idyllic and healing experience.
Foodography: A Singapore Food Blog 