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Kamakura Hiking Trails: Daibutsu, Tenen and Gion-yama Courses, Times and Which One to Walk (2026)

Updated 2026-10-13

Kamakura sits in a bowl of low, wooded hills, and the city keeps three marked trails along the ridges. None of them is a mountain climb. The highest point on the longest one is 159 m. They're still real dirt paths, with roots, steps cut into rock and mud after rain, so they're not a stroll in sandals either.

If you walk only one, make it the Daibutsu course. It's the short one, the official guide calls it a beginners' course, and it drops you at the Great Buddha, which you'd want to see anyway. The Tenen course is the one for people who came to hike: twice as long, along the ridge behind Kenchoji temple.

Kamakura's three hiking courses on a walking-time scale. Tenen course, about 5.5 km: Kita-Kamakura Station 0:00, Kenchoji 0:15, Hansobo 0:35, Katsuagaken 0:45, Juoiwa 0:50, Ohirayama 1:15 (159 m, highest point), Tenen 1:30, Kaibuki Jizo 1:45, Zuisenji entrance 2:05. Kenchoji costs 500 yen and its gate shuts at 16:30; the Imaizumidai entrance is free, 20 plus 10 minutes to Hansobo. Daibutsu course, about 3 km, 1 hour 30 minutes from Kita-Kamakura to Hase Station via Jochiji, Kuzuharaoka Shrine, Genjiyama Park and the Great Buddha (300 yen). Gion-yama course reopened 1 April 2023, rockfall reported near the Toshoji ruins.
Walking time only, from the city tourist association's course maps. The Tenen total is the official section times added up.

The three courses side by side

Daibutsu course Tenen course Gion-yama course
Official name Kuzuharaoka-Daibutsu Tenen Gion-yama
Start → end JR Kita-Kamakura Sta. → Enoden Hase Sta. JR Kita-Kamakura Sta. → near Zuisenji see the official course page
Distance about 3 km about 5.5 km not published
Walking time about 1 h 30 min 2 h 05 min (sections added up) not published
Level (official) beginners not stated not stated
Fees on the trail none; Great Buddha ¥300 if you go in Kenchoji ¥500 if you start through it none
Status open open reopened 1 April 2023

Gion-yama was badly damaged by typhoons No. 15 and No. 19 in 2019. Landslides and fallen trees kept it shut for more than three years. The city still warns about falling rocks near the Toshoji ruins on that course.

Daibutsu course: Kita-Kamakura to the Great Buddha

The route: JR Kita-Kamakura Station → Jochiji → Kuzuharaoka Shrine → Genjiyama Park → Kotoku-in (the Great Buddha) → Enoden Hase Station. About 3 km and about 1 hour 30 minutes of walking.

The trail starts on the path beside Jochiji, one of Kamakura's five great Zen temples. You don't have to go into the temple to use the trail. If you do, it's ¥300 for adults and ¥100 for junior high and younger, 9:00 to 16:30.

Genjiyama Park has the statue of Minamoto no Yoritomo, the man who founded the Kamakura shogunate. The tourist association suggests it as a lunch stop, and it's the natural halfway point. Two side trips start near here: Zeniarai Benten, the shrine where people wash coins in spring water, and Sasuke Inari, a hillside shrine with a tunnel of red gates. Both add walking that's not in the 1 h 30 min.

At the end, the trail comes down to Kotoku-in. Adults pay ¥300 (¥150 for elementary school children), and stepping inside the hollow statue costs ¥50 more. The temple is open 8:00 to 17:00 from October to March (17:30 April to September), with last entry 15 minutes before closing. If you'd rather keep walking, a fork near the end goes to the Daibutsu Kiridoshi, an old pass cut through the rock, instead of down to the Buddha.

From Hase Station, the Enoden takes you to Kamakura Station or on to Enoshima. Hasedera is on the way, about 10 minutes on foot from the Great Buddha.

Which direction? The official route runs north to south. We'd keep it that way. You start at Kita-Kamakura in the morning while the temples there are quiet, and you finish next to the Great Buddha and the Enoden, so the rest of the day flows on to Hase, the beach or Enoshima.

Tenen course: the ridge walk

This is the long one: about 5.5 km from Kita-Kamakura round the ridge to the Zuisenji end. The official course map gives the minutes for each section:

Section Minutes Running total
Kita-Kamakura Sta. → Kenchoji 15 0:15
Kenchoji → Hansobo (through the temple grounds) 20 0:35
Hansobo → Katsuagaken 10 0:45
Katsuagaken → Juoiwa (a lookout) 5 0:50
Juoiwa → Ohirayama (159 m) 25 1:15
Ohirayama → Tenen 15 1:30
Tenen → Kaibuki Jizo 15 1:45
Kaibuki Jizo → Zuisenji entrance 20 2:05

So it's just over 2 hours of walking before you add any breaks. Ohirayama is the highest point on the course, and from Juoiwa on you're mostly walking along the top of the ridge.

The Kenchoji gate and the free way in

The usual start goes through Kenchoji: you walk up through the temple grounds to Hansobo, the shrine at the back, where the trail begins. Since that's inside the temple, you pay the ¥500 entrance fee (¥200 for children), and Kenchoji is open 8:30 to 16:30.

The official map shows a second way up that skips the temple: Kita-Kamakura Station → Imaizumidai residential entrance (20 min) → Hansobo (10 min). That's 30 minutes against 35 through Kenchoji, and it's free. The catch is that you miss Kenchoji itself, with its gate, halls and garden on the way up. Our call: go through Kenchoji if you'll be there between 8:30 and about 15:30, so you have time to look round. Starting later, take the Imaizumidai entrance.

Kenchoji has announced free admission on 24 October 2026.

Getting back from the Zuisenji end

The trail comes down near Zuisenji. From the Zuisenji entrance it's about 15 minutes on foot to Kamakuragu shrine. From there, Keikyu buses for Kamakura Station leave from the Daitonomiya stop (the end of the line, about 15 minutes to the station). Or keep walking: the Hokokuji bamboo garden is in the same part of town, and the temple fees calculator has its price and hours.

You can also walk the course the other way, starting from Kamakura Station by bus. We'd still start at Kita-Kamakura, for the same reason as the Daibutsu course: the end puts you closer to buses and to central Kamakura.

Before you go: what the city asks

These are the city's own notes on all three trails, with what they mean for a day trip:

The city's tourism division (0467-61-3884) handles closures. After a big typhoon, check the course pages below before you set out.

Fitting a hike into a Kamakura day

The Daibutsu course fits into the classic day without much trouble. Start at Kita-Kamakura with Engakuji (¥500, a minute from the station), walk the trail, see the Great Buddha and Hasedera, and ride the Enoden from Hase. That covers what most people come to see, with the walk between the sights done on a ridge instead of a road. Our Kamakura day trip itinerary has the rest of the times and fares.

If you'll ride the Enoden more than a couple of times after the walk, see whether the Enoden 1-day pass pays. Kita-Kamakura is on the JR Yokosuka Line, one stop before Kamakura, so the Enoshima-Kamakura Freepass doesn't cover the train to the trailhead.

Guided walks PR

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Frequently asked questions

Are the Kamakura hiking trails open now?

Yes, as of 2026-10-13 the city lists all three official courses (Daibutsu, Tenen and Gion-yama) as walkable. Gion-yama reopened on 1 April 2023 after the 2019 typhoons. The city warns of falling rocks near the Toshoji ruins on that course.

Do I have to pay to walk the Tenen course?

Only if you start through Kenchoji, which costs ¥500 for adults and closes at 16:30. The Imaizumidai residential entrance near Kita-Kamakura Station leads to the same trail for free.

Can I walk the trails with young children?

The Daibutsu course is rated for beginners by the city, and it's about 3 km. Steps, roots and mud make it hard going with a stroller, so carry small children or leave the stroller at your hotel.

Official sources (checked 2026-10-13)

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