Sugimoto-dera

photo by Naokijp · CC BY-SA 4.0

The oldest temple in Kamakura, from 734; the moss staircase, however, is closed.

You enter the main hall barefoot; it has a thatched roof and a worn floor, and you pray before three eleven-faced Kannon lined up in the half-light. Two are Important Cultural Properties, and they are shown on the first and the eighteenth of each month, with a ritual at 13:30. ⚠️ The moss-covered staircase, which is the image used to sell the temple, is closed to protect it: you look at it from a side path.

Founded in year 6 of the Tenpyō era, that is in 734, it is the oldest temple in Kamakura: Hase-dera, the second oldest, dates from 736. It is the first of the thirty-three stops on the Bandō pilgrimage dedicated to Kannon, the circuit that crosses the whole of the Kantō.

ℹ️ Open 9:00–16:00, admission until 15:45. Tickets 300 yen from high school age up, 200 for junior high, 100 for elementary school. You take your shoes off to enter the hall. The two designated Kannon can be seen on the 1st and 18th of each month, with the 13:30 ritual. ⚠️ The old moss staircase is off limits; you go up the side one.

🚉 Kamakura · 25 min walk

Sources: sugimotodera.com · kamakuraguide.com · 4travel.jp

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