Around Tokyo - The Rough Guide to Tokyo - page 224

cake) or afternoon tea (¥1000) and relax with a view over
the garden and carp-filled pond. Daily 9am-9pm.
Picot Bakery ϐίοτ 359 Miyanoshita T 0460 82
5541. This stylishly renovated bakery, on the main road
outside the Fujiya hotel, is a good place to pick up bread
and cakes for breakfast or lunch. Daily 8.30am-7pm.

SENGOKUHARA
Lys At the Lalique Museum Hakone (see p.222), 186-1
Sengokuhara. This café-restaurant boasts a wonderful
setting with a view of the mountains, and has garden
seating in summer. Lunch here will run to around ¥2000.
Daily 9am-4pm.

Kamakura
ח૔
An hour's train ride south of Tokyo lies the small, relaxed town of Kamakura, trapped
between the sea and a circle of wooded hills. The town is steeped in history, and many
of its 65 temples and 19 shrines date back some eight centuries, when, for a brief and
tumultuous period, it was Japan's political and military centre. Its most famous sight is
the Kamakura Daibutsu , a glorious bronze Buddha surrounded by trees, but the town's
ancient Zen temples are equally compelling.
If you're visiting Kamakua on a day-trip, you could reasonably start with the temples
of Kita-Kamakura , the town's northern suburb, and then walk south to the sights of
central Kamakura , before finishing up at the Great Buddha in Hase on its western
outskirts. Those who fancy a little hike - highly recommended - should start in central
Kamakura instead, heading up to Kita-Kamakura then taking the Daibutsu hiking
course to the Buddha. Be sure to get an early start: most sights close early (generally
4pm or 4.30pm in winter and only a little later in summer). If you have the time, the
town more than justifies a two-day visit, allowing you time to explore the enchanting
temples of East Kamakura , follow one of the gentle “hiking courses” up into the hills
and ride the Enoden line a few kilometres west to tiny Enoshima island.
If at all possible, avoid weekends and national holidays and July and August, when
both Kamakura and Enoshima are swamped with tourists. In summer, the coast here is
a favourite spot for windsurfing.

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Brief history
In 1185 the warlord Minamoto Yoritomo became the first permanent shogun and the
effective ruler of Japan. Seven years later he established his military government
- known as the Bakufu, or “tent government” - in Kamakura. Over the next century,
dozens of grand monuments were built here, notably the great Zen temples founded by
monks fleeing Song-dynasty China. Zen Buddhism flourished under the patronage of a
warrior class who shared similar ideals of single-minded devotion to duty and rigorous
self-discipline.
The Minamoto rule was brief and violent. Almost immediately, Yoritomo turned
against his valiant younger brother, Yoshitsune, who had led the clan's armies, and
hounded him until Yoshitsune committed ritual suicide ( seppuku ) - a favourite tale of
kabuki theatre. Both the second and third Minamoto shoguns were murdered, and in
1219 power passed to the Hōjō clan, who ruled as fairly able regents behind puppet
shoguns. Their downfall followed the Mongol invasions in the late thirteenth century,
and in 1333 Emperor Go-Daigo wrested power back to Kyoto; as the imperial armies

KAMAKURA THROUGH THE YEAR
The town's biggest festivals take place in early April (second Sun to third or fourth Sun) and
mid-September, including displays of horseback archery and costume parades, though the
summer fireworks display (second Tues in Aug) over Sugami Bay is the most spectacular event.
Kamakura is also well known for its spring blossoms and autumn colours , while many
temple gardens are famous for a particular flower - for example, Japanese apricot at Zuisen-ji
and Tōkei-ji (Feb) and hydrangea at Meigetsu-in (mid-June).