This Zen Buddhist temple was built in 1249 and is a 10-minute walk from Engaku-ji Temple. Admission costs ¥500 per person, only in cash. Consisting also of several buildings, somon, sanmon, bonsho, hatto you can see the interior of some of them with notably a magnificent and enormous dragon painted on the ceiling. In the rear part of the complex, it is possible to enter one of the buildings, after removing his shoes. The visit is really pretty and you can see a nice lake, out of sight, with its landscaped garden. The different doors and buildings on stilts are really impressive to see. A welcome quiet area in this temple where there are a few more people due to its fame. The zen garden is very cute. Allow 1 hour of visit if you take the time to stroll. If you feel brave, a side trail leads to a view of the area and Mount Fuji if time is right.

Surely the most attractive thing in Kamakura is the Buddha. I think this temple has much more artistic and historical value. It has several buildings, some of them very old. Of wood. Very worked. The bell tower stands out, some of the figures like a starving Buddha. Also the ceiling paintings. It is a visit that you should not miss. Kamakura is 1 hour from Tokyo. It is recommended to get to Kita Kamakura and take a walking route to the Buddha, visit this temple and return from Kamakura.

More people need to visit this temple! It's not listed number 1 in Kamakura but in my mind, it deserves at least number 2. The grounds are extensive and beautiful. It fully elicit that zen temple experience in the way that it demands you to climb stairs to deserve seeing the view from above. Some features include: a zen garden, a meditation hall (remove your shoes), a bamboo grove, a really early and intact Buddhist hall dating back a thousand years. Admission fee of about 500 yen well worth the price

Kenchji is a Rinzai zen temple built by Rankei Doryu in 1253. There are a lot of magnificent buildings. I was impressed by Shinji Pond and Zen Garden. The Shinji pond looks like a character Kokoro which means heart. The pond will give you an Instagram moment.

If you're starting from the JR Kamakura station and have already walked as far as the Tsurugaoka Hachimangu shrine, it's worth walking another 600 m or so to Kencho-ji. This zen temple is a complete contrast to Tsurugaoka. Like Tsurugaoka, it is beautifully landscaped (in my opinion, better-landscaped), but the contrast is the style of the buildings, all earth tones, with no bright colours. There are several buildings to explore, plus the garden. Another contrast is that this place is not crowded, unlike Tsurugaoka. Unfortunately I ran out of time to take the hike up to the viewpoint. A definite thing to do next time; it sounds very worthwhile based on reviews and comments online. Since I had come this far, it was actually closer to walk to the Kita-Kamakura JR station rather than walking back to the JR Kamakura station, which meant that there was time for a short visit to Jochi-ji temple on the way. (The Tokei-ji temple would also be on the way to the Kita-Kamakura station).

This is a lovely temple in Kamakura and wasn’t very busy when we visited. It is quite a large complex and has a small garden included in the entrance fee. There are a number of interesting buildings and statues to explore. We didn’t do the trail and observatory but I wish we had as it was a clear day and I’m sure Fuji would’ve been viewable!