Kamakura bamboo forest and the Zen temples around it

The Kamakura bamboo forest is a garden behind the main hall of Hokokuji, a Zen temple on the east side of town. The temple's own guide says the garden holds about 2,000 bamboo plants along with seasonal flowers.⁷ The bamboo is a variety known as moso, and the temple says the retreat of the monk Tengan Eko was here and forms the present garden.⁸ Light slips between the stalks and the path stays shaded, which is what draws people to it.

Hokokuji is a Zen temple of the Kenchoji order of the Rinzai sect. It was established by Tengan Eko in 1334 to commemorate Ashikaga Ietoki, the grandfather of the first Ashikaga shogun.⁹ The garden lies behind the main hall. Beyond the bamboo, the temple's own visitor page points to a dry landscape garden of raked sand, moss on the stones along the approach and an old bell tower, so the visit has more to it than one grove. The place is compact, and it does not need a long visit.

The temple asks for good manners. Visitors are requested to stay quiet, not to use camera tripods, not to eat or drink inside and not to bring pets, guide dogs excepted.¹⁰ If photography is the goal, plan on a handheld camera and patience rather than gear. The temple says the bamboo looks different with the season, the weather and the hour, so a wet morning and a bright afternoon give you quite different gardens.

The temple lists Tokyo Station about 60 minutes from Kamakura on the JR Yokosuka Line, Shinagawa about 50 minutes and Shinjuku about 53 minutes on the Shonan-Shinjuku Line.²⁰ From Kamakura Station, Hokokuji is about 7 minutes by taxi, or about 12 minutes by Keikyu bus to the Joumyoji stop followed by a 3-minute walk.¹⁵

The taxi is the quicker route. The temple lies on the east side of town, away from the Great Buddha and Hase-dera, and pairs naturally with the shrine. Jomyoji, a temple whose district gives the bus stop its name, is nearby and shares the area, and the pair makes a natural stop. Jomyoji is open from 9:00 to 16:30, and adult admission is 100 yen, with a rock garden and matcha on offer.⁶ If your day allows a second stop in this part of town, that is the one to add.

There is a small car park, but the temple says that when it is full you should use a nearby paid car park.¹⁵ On a day trip by train and bus you will not need it, and the walk from the stop is short. If you take a guided tour, check that the bamboo garden is a listed stop: one four-hour listing names the Hokokuji bamboo forest between Hase-dera and Tsurugaoka Hachimangu.

Kenchoji is ranked first among the Kamakura Gozan, and Visit Kanagawa notes its many old buildings and a temple bell designated a national treasure.¹⁸ The bell was cast in 1255, and the temple describes itself as the first in Japan to be called a Zen temple.⁸⁰ At its height it had about 1,000 monks, more than 400 branch temples and 49 sub-temples.⁸¹

Kenchoji is open from 8:30 to 16:30, and admission is 500 yen for adults and 200 yen for children, cash only.⁵ From Kita-Kamakura Station it is a 5-minute bus ride or about a 15-minute walk.¹⁴ The temple notes that hikers who enter the hills through its grounds also pay the admission fee, which matters if you plan to continue on a trail.⁸²

Taking Engakuji, Jochiji and Kenchoji together makes a walking day along the same line of valleys, and none of them needs a booking. Each has its own character: Engakuji is the one with the relics and the bell, Jochiji the small garden temple, Kenchoji the great complex of halls. Adult fees at the three are 500 yen, 200 yen and 500 yen.^12,13,5 If you want to add the bamboo garden, treat it as a separate trip to the east side.