This site uses affiliate links (PR). Details

Kamakura in Winter: Gates Shut 16:00–16:45, Sunset 16:28

Updated 2026-11-07

Winter does two things to a Kamakura day. It closes the temple gates earlier than you expect, and it clears the sky. From December to February Engakuji stops letting people in at 16:00 (16:30 the rest of the year), the Great Buddha's gate shuts at 16:45, Hasedera's at 16:30, and the sun is down at 16:28 on 1 December in the Tokyo table of the National Astronomical Observatory. At the same time January is the sunniest month of the year on the coast: 192.7 hours in the Meteorological Agency's Yokohama normals, against 135.9 in June. It is cold but not Hakone-cold: Yokohama's January average is 6.1 °C, Tokyo's 5.4 °C, Hakone-machi's 0.4 °C. The train fares and the passes cost the same as in any season. Everything here is from the temples', operators' and agencies' own pages, checked 2026-11-07.

Kamakura winter clock on a 6:00 to 20:30 axis: Tsurugaoka Hachimangu grounds 6:00 to 20:00, free; Great Buddha grounds October to March 8:00 to 17:00 with last entry 16:45, 300 yen; inside the Great Buddha 8:00 to 16:30, enter by 16:20, 50 yen extra; Hasedera entry 8:00 to 16:30, grounds close 17:00, 400 yen; Engakuji December to February 8:30 to 16:00, leave by 16:30, 500 yen, circled as the earliest paid gate; Hokokuji 9:00 to 16:00, matcha tickets to 15:30, closed 29 December to 3 January, 400 yen; Meigetsuin 9:00 to 16:00, 500 yen. Sunset in the Tokyo table: 16:28 on 1 December, 16:38 on 1 January, 17:08 on 1 February, 17:35 on 28 February. A note says to do Kita-Kamakura first and the Great Buddha last.
Every paid gate in Kamakura shuts between 16:00 and 16:45 in winter. The Great Buddha's is the latest, so it goes at the end of the day.

The gates: last entry in winter

Place Winter hours Last entry Fee (adult / child) Source
Great Buddha (Kotoku-in), grounds 8:00–17:00 (October–March) 16:45 (15 minutes before closing) ¥300 / ¥150 (6–12) Kotoku-in, English site
Great Buddha, inside the statue 8:00–16:30 all year 16:20 (10 minutes before) ¥50 extra per person Kotoku-in
Hasedera entry 8:00–16:30, grounds close 17:00 (July–March) 16:30 ¥400 / ¥200 Hasedera, admission guide
Engakuji 8:30–16:00, leave by 16:30 (December–February only) 16:00 ¥500 / ¥200 Engakuji, access page
Kenchoji 8:30–16:30 all year 16:30 ¥500 / ¥200 Kenchoji
Meigetsuin 9:00–16:00 16:00 ¥500 / ¥300 city tourist association
Hokokuji (bamboo garden) 9:00–16:00; closed 29 December–3 January 16:00 (matcha tickets to 15:30) ¥400 / ¥200 Hokokuji, guide page
Tokeiji / Jochiji 9:00–16:00 / 9:00–16:30 16:00 / 16:30 free (offering) / ¥300 each temple's site
Tsurugaoka Hachimangu, grounds 6:00–20:00 – free trip-kamakura.com

Only Engakuji prints a winter timetable; the Great Buddha's October–March hours are the same ones that start in autumn. The practical point is the order. The Kamakura day trip itinerary starts at Kita-Kamakura and walks south to Hachimangu, then rides the Enoden to Hase. In winter that is the only order that works: Engakuji and Meigetsuin close their gates at 16:00, Hasedera at 16:30, and the Great Buddha, seven minutes' walk from Hase Station, takes you until 16:45. Done the other way round, the last Kita-Kamakura gate is shut before 16:00 and you are standing outside it in the dark.

Sunset, from the observatory's Tokyo table: 16:28 on 1 December, 16:37 on 31 December, 16:38 on 1 January, 17:07 on 31 January, 17:08 on 1 February, 17:35 on 28 February. Kamakura is 45 km south-west of Tokyo, so its times differ by about a minute. December and early January are the dark weeks; by late February the evening is back to early November. Sunrise moves the other way, from 6:32 on 1 December to 6:50 at the turn of the year, which is the hour Hachimangu's gate opens.

How cold, and how clear: the official monthly figures

The Japan Meteorological Agency's station nearest to Kamakura with a full climate record is Yokohama, 20 km up the coast. Its 1991–2020 normals, next to Tokyo's and to the Hakone-machi figures published by the Hakone operator:

Month Yokohama: mean, daily max, daily min Tokyo: mean, daily max, daily min Hakone-machi: average Yokohama rain Yokohama sunshine
December 8.7 / 12.5 / 5.2 °C 7.7 / 12.0 / 3.8 °C 3.4 °C 66.4 mm 178.1 h
January 6.1 / 10.2 / 2.7 °C 5.4 / 9.8 / 1.2 °C 0.4 °C 64.7 mm 192.7 h
February 6.7 / 10.8 / 3.1 °C 6.1 / 10.9 / 2.1 °C 1.7 °C 64.7 mm 167.2 h

Three readings. First, the coast is a degree milder than central Tokyo at night (Yokohama's January daily low is 2.7 °C against Tokyo's 1.2 °C) and nearly 6 °C warmer than Hakone-machi on average, so the Hakone winter guide and this one describe different winters. Second, it is dry: 65 mm a month against 189 mm in June, with relative humidity in the 50s. Third, and the reason to come: January has more sunshine than any other month of the year in the Yokohama table, 192.7 hours, and December is second. Mt. Fuji across Sagami Bay from the Enoden coast (Inamuragasaki, Shichirigahama, Yuigahama) is a clear-day sight, and winter has the most clear hours. The snow line in the same table is a few centimetres a year, not a monthly figure; snow in Kamakura is the exception, and Engakuji's page says it may close for it.

What to bring follows from the numbers: an afternoon of 10–12 °C in the sun, 3 °C or less by the time the Enoden brings you back after dark, and wind on the beach. The temples are unheated; the halls you take your shoes off in (Hasedera's Kannon hall, the Great Buddha's interior) are the cold part of the day.

The dates inside the season

Kamakura winter calendar from 21 November 2026 to 28 February 2027: Hasedera night viewing 21 November to 6 December, gate until 19:00, 400 yen; Enoshima illumination Shonan no Hoseki 1 December to 28 February, garden 500 yen after 17:00; Hokokuji closed 29 December to 3 January; Tsurugaoka Museum closed 28 December to 5 January; plum blossom peak in mid-February. Dates: 16 December enshrinement anniversary rite at Hachimangu; 18 December Hasedera year-end market with free entry 16:30 to 19:30, circled; 31 December purification rites at Hachimangu at 11:00, 13:00 and 15:00, New Year's Eve rite at 17:00, no cars around Hase from 23:00; 1 to 3 January New Year crowds.
18 December is the one evening of the year Hasedera is free after 16:30. The Enoshima lights run the whole season, and two gardens close over the New Year.

What the day costs in winter

Nothing on the fare side changes with the season. Per adult, from the operators' pages:

Price Child (6–11)
Odakyu Enoshima-Kamakura Freepass from Shinjuku (one round trip to Fujisawa, unlimited Enoden, one day) ¥1,640 ¥430
Enoden 1-day pass, Noriorikun ¥800 ¥400
Enoden single fares: Kamakura–Hase / Kamakura–Enoshima / Fujisawa–Kamakura ¥200 / ¥260 / ¥310 half, rounded up to ¥10
Shonan Monorail, Ofuna–Shonan-Enoshima ¥340 ¥170
Temple fees for the winter order above: Engakuji ¥500, Meigetsuin ¥500, Hasedera ¥400, Great Buddha ¥300 (+¥50 inside) ¥1,750 ¥900 (6–11)

JR fares from Tokyo and Shinjuku are not printed here because JR East's fare pages could not be opened from our network; the gate shows the fare. The Enoshima-Kamakura Freepass calculator tells you whether the Odakyu pass or single tickets win for your rides, and the temple entrance fees calculator adds up the gates for your group. A winter day with two Kita-Kamakura temples, Hasedera, the Buddha and the Enoshima lights on the way back comes to about ¥1,750 in temple fees plus ¥500 for the garden at Enoshima, before trains.

Rather have the winter day arranged?

PR Affiliate links (disclosure): booking through them supports this site at no extra cost. Prices on partner sites may differ from the official prices on this page.

Frequently asked questions

Is Kamakura worth visiting in winter?

If you want the temples quiet and Mt. Fuji across the bay, yes: January has the most sunshine hours of any month in the Yokohama normals (192.7) and the daytime high is about 10 °C. If you want gardens in leaf or flower, no: the hydrangeas are June and the leaves are late November to early December. The gates close between 16:00 and 16:45, so it is a shorter day.

What time do Kamakura temples close in winter?

Engakuji stops entry at 16:00 from December to February (leave by 16:30). Meigetsuin, Hokokuji and Tokeiji close at 16:00 all year, Kenchoji and Jochiji at 16:30. Hasedera's last entry is 16:30 and the grounds close at 17:00. The Great Buddha's gate closes at 17:00 from October to March, last entry 16:45, and the inside of the statue at 16:30. Hachimangu's grounds are open 6:00–20:00.

How cold is Kamakura in January?

The Meteorological Agency's Yokohama normals give a January mean of 6.1 °C, a daily high of 10.2 °C and a daily low of 2.7 °C, with 64.7 mm of rain and 192.7 hours of sunshine. Tokyo is a degree colder at night; Hakone-machi averages 0.4 °C.

Does it snow in Kamakura?

Rarely. The Yokohama table records a few centimetres of snow a year, not per month, and the winter months are the driest of the year at about 65 mm. Engakuji's page says it may close in snow, so a snowy morning is the one time to check before you go.

Is anything closed over the New Year?

Hokokuji's bamboo garden is closed 29 December–3 January, the Tsurugaoka Museum 28 December–5 January and the Museum of National Treasures 29 December–3 January. The temples themselves are open and busy; Hasedera warns of heavy crowds through the period. Hachimangu's New Year hours are on the shrine's own site, which could not be opened when this page was checked.

Can I see the Enoshima illumination on a Kamakura day trip?

Yes. The lights run from 1 December 2026 to 28 February 2027 and the island is 25 minutes from Kamakura on the Enoden (¥260). Finish at the Great Buddha by 16:45, ride on from Hase to Enoshima Station, and the garden opens its night entry at 17:00 (¥500).

Official sources (checked 2026-11-07)

More for your trip