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Hasedera Temple, Kamakura: Entrance Fee, Opening Hours, the Cave, Hydrangea Season and Goshuin (2026)

Updated 2026-10-13

Hasedera runs on two clocks, and the second one is the one people miss. The gate takes visitors until 16:30 (17:00 from April to June), but the Kannon Museum inside stops selling tickets at 16:00 and the goshuin office shuts at 16:00 too. Entry is ¥400 for adults and ¥200 for children aged 6–11; the museum is ¥500 more (¥200 for elementary school children). The temple sits on a hillside called Kannon-zan, a 5-minute walk from Enoden Hase Station, and the Great Buddha is 5 to 10 minutes further up the road. Everything here is from the temple's and the museum's official pages, read on 2026-10-13.

Cross-section of Hasedera's grounds. Lower level: main gate, ticket office (400 yen adult, 200 yen child), Benten-do and the Benten-kutsu cave, Daikoku-do. Stairs up past Jizo-do. Upper level: Kannon-do with the 9.18 m eleven-headed Kannon, Kannon Museum (500 yen, desk 9:00 to 16:00), Amida-do, observation platform with the sea view and the Kaikoan restaurant, Prospect Path which is the hydrangea path in June. Hours: July to March entry 8:00 to 16:30 and gates close 17:00; April to June entry 8:00 to 17:00 and gates close 17:30. Goshuin office 8:00 to 16:00. Autumn night viewing 21 November to 6 December 2026, sunset to 19:00, 400 yen.
The Kannon, the museum and the view are all on the upper level. The cave is on the lower level, so most people see it on the way out.

Entrance fee

Ticket Price Notes
Adult ¥400 junior high students pay this too
Child (age 6–11) ¥200 the fee table lists no price for younger children
Kannon Museum ¥500 adult (junior high and up), ¥200 elementary sold at the museum, on top of temple entry
Goshuin (temple stamp) ¥300 office 8:00–16:00
Autumn night viewing ¥400 adult, ¥200 child 21 Nov–6 Dec 2026, sunset to 19:00

Two things about the museum price. First, the temple's own English map still says ¥300. The museum's site, which is the one that sells the ticket, says ¥500 for anyone of junior high age and up, so budget ¥500. Second, it has no fixed closing day but closes now and then to change exhibits: the next one is 19–21 October 2026. Check its calendar if the museum is the point of your visit.

Opening hours

July–March April–June
Entry (ticket sales) 8:00–16:30 8:00–17:00
Gates close 17:00 17:30
Kannon Museum desk 9:00–16:00 (museum closes 16:30) same
Goshuin office 8:00–16:00 same
Morning service in the Kannon-do from 8:00, about 30 minutes same

The longer hours in April, May and June are for the flowers: wisteria, peonies and then the hydrangeas. Note that the museum and the goshuin office don't stretch their hours with the gate. If you come at 16:15 in May you'll get in, see the Kannon and the view, and find both counters closed.

Our order for a late arrival: straight up the stairs to the Kannon-do and the museum, then the terrace, then back down to the cave. Arrive by 15:30 and nothing is shut.

What's on the hill

The grounds are on two levels. The ticket office, Benten-do and the cave are at the bottom. A flight of stairs, with the Jizo-do and its rows of small Jizo statues on the way, leads to the upper level, where the main halls and the sea view are.

The Kannon-do and the 9.18 m Kannon

The main hall holds the Hase Kannon, a standing wooden statue of the eleven-headed Kannon that the temple puts at 9.18 metres, one of the largest wooden Buddhist statues in Japan. The hall itself was rebuilt in reinforced concrete and finished in 1985. No photos or video inside the hall, and the same rule applies in the museum. Monks chant the morning service here at 8:00 every day; it lasts about 30 minutes and visitors may sit in.

The Kannon Museum

Three rooms of the temple's treasures. The pieces the museum singles out are the 1264 bell, the oldest object in the temple that carries the name Hasedera and, by the museum's count, the third-oldest bell in Kamakura after Jorakuji's and Kenchoji's; the six kakebotoke (large hanging bronze plaques showing the Hasedera-style Kannon, displayed together since the 2015 renovation); and the thirty-three forms of Kannon carved in the Muromachi period. Worth ¥500 if you like Buddhist sculpture, skippable if you came for the garden and the view. The desk closes at 16:00.

Amida-do, the bell and the sutra store

Next to the Kannon-do, the Amida-do houses the Yakuyoke Amida and what the temple says is Japan's largest mokugyo, the wooden fish drum, 105 cm across. The belfry's bell is the 1984 replacement (the original is in the museum) and it's struck at 8:00. The Kyozo sutra repository has a rotating bookshelf and a row of prayer wheels.

The observation platform and Kaikoan

The reason to climb. The platform on the upper level looks over the roofs of Kamakura to the sea. The Kaikoan restaurant beside it has the same view from its windows. Of the Kamakura temples we've written up, this is the only one with a sea view from inside the paying area.

Benten-kutsu cave

Back on the lower level, past the Benten-do, a low tunnel leads into the Benten-kutsu, the cave where the temple says Kobo Daishi meditated. Figures of Benzaiten are carved into the rock walls. It's short, and it's the part children remember.

Nagomi Jizo and the thousand Jizo

The round-faced Nagomi Jizo (placed in 2010) is the most photographed thing on the grounds, and three smaller Ryo-en Jizo are tucked into different corners for you to find. The Jizo-do on the stairs is surrounded by rows of small Jizo statues; it's a place of prayer, so keep the photo session for the Nagomi Jizo.

Hydrangea season: when to come

In June the Prospect Path becomes the hydrangea path, with more than 40 varieties by the temple's count. The temple's own weekly flower reports are the best guide to timing, and they say the same thing two years running:

2025 2026
Half open 4 June 4 June (40–50%)
Peak reported 10–17 June 11 June
Late varieties 20 June 19 June
"Peak has passed" 27 June 26 June

So aim for the second week of June. In 2025 the path became a paid section from 6 June (the temple announced it in a flower report). The pages we could open don't give the path fee or how the queue is run, so check the temple's news page in late May before you plan a weekend visit. Expect the hours to be the April–June ones (entry until 17:00).

Autumn night viewing 2026

From 21 November to 6 December 2026 the temple opens again after dark for the maple light-up: sunset to a 19:00 gate closing (grounds clear by 19:30). Admission is the normal ¥400 / ¥200. It runs in rain, may be cancelled in severe weather, and may be extended if the leaves hold. No tripods in the walkways. Hase Station is a 5-minute walk, so you can do the Great Buddha by daylight, eat on Hase-dori and come back for the lights.

Goshuin: four months when it's paper only

The goshuin office is right after the entrance and is open 8:00–16:00 all year. Hand your book in there before you tour the grounds, so it's ready when you leave. One rule catches people: in January, April, May and June the temple gives out only pre-written paper goshuin and writes nothing in your book. If the handwritten version matters to you, come in another month. (The Bando pilgrimage book and the Seven Lucky Gods shikishi are the exceptions.) Seasonal embroidered and paper-cut goshuin appear in autumn and end when they sell out.

How to get there

Practical things

Tours that stop at Hasedera

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Frequently asked questions

Can I take photos at Hasedera?

Yes on the grounds, the terrace and the cave, but not inside the Kannon-do hall or the Kannon Museum. During the autumn light-up, tripods are not allowed in the walkways.

Is there a bus to Hasedera from Kamakura Station?

The Enoden is the simple way: Hase Station is three stops and ¥200 from Kamakura. The Enoden's ¥900 Kamakura Free Kankyo Tegata covers the Kamakura–Hase train and the buses in central Kamakura, which helps only if you also ride to Hokokuji or Kita-Kamakura by bus.

Is Hasedera open every day?

The temple lists no closing day. The Kannon Museum has no fixed closing day either but closes for exhibit changes, next on 19–21 October 2026, and it changed its weekend hours during June 2026, so check the museum's calendar before a weekend visit.

Official sources (checked 2026-10-13)

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