Kenchō-ji

photo by KENPEI · CC BY-SA 4.0

You pay for a ticket even if you only go in for the trail: the Ten'en starts in here.

You enter through the Sanmon, and the grounds are flat, which is rare in Kamakura: the main halls stand in a row on a single axis, and you reach the far end without climbing. The climb starts afterwards, towards the Hansōbō, and from there it is another five minutes to the Katsujōken viewpoint, from which you can see the city, the sea and, on clear days, Mount Fuji all together. Tickets are cash only, and tripods cannot be set up.

Founded in 1253, it is the first of the five great Zen temples of Kamakura, the ranking fixed under Ashikaga Yoshimitsu that puts Engaku-ji second and Jōmyō-ji fifth. Its 梵鐘, the bell, is a National Treasure, and the garden is one of only three designated Places of Scenic Beauty (名勝) in the municipality. The Ten'en trail, which runs along the ridge to Zuisen-ji, starts inside the grounds, beyond the Hansōbō.

ℹ️ Open 8:30–16:30. Tickets 500 yen from high school age up, 200 for elementary and junior high school students, cash only. Free for holders of a disability certificate plus one companion. You can get as far as the Karamon in a wheelchair; there is an accessible toilet and a few wheelchairs on loan, in limited numbers. Tripods and monopods are not allowed, and neither is smoking. If you go in to walk the Ten'en trail, you still pay for a ticket. Car park for 20 cars, 600 yen. Five minutes by bus or a quarter of an hour on foot from Kita-Kamakura, half an hour on foot from Kamakura.

🚉 Kita-Kamakura · 13 min walk

Sources: kenchoji.com · kenchoji.com · 4travel.jp · tripadvisor.com

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