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Kita-Kamakura Temples: Engakuji, Meigetsuin, Kenchoji Entrance Fees, Hours and the Walk to Kamakura Station (2026)

Updated 2026-10-13

Kita-Kamakura is the stop before Kamakura on the JR Yokosuka Line, and getting off there turns the morning into a walk: five Zen temples along one road, then Tsurugaoka Hachimangu and Kamakura Station at the far end. The four temples that charge add up to ¥1,800 per adult (Engakuji ¥500, Jochiji ¥300, Meigetsuin ¥500, Kenchoji ¥500); Tokeiji asks only for an offering. Engakuji is 1 minute from the station, Kenchoji 15 minutes, and from Kenchoji it's 30 minutes on foot to Kamakura Station. Fees and hours below come from each temple's own site (Meigetsuin's from the city tourist association), read on 2026-10-13.

Vertical map of the walk from JR Kita-Kamakura Station south to JR Kamakura Station with a ticket for each stop: Engakuji 1 minute, 500 yen adult and 200 yen child, 8:30 to 16:30 (December to February until 16:00); Tokeiji 4 minutes, no fee, 9:00 to 16:00, treasure house shut on the first and third Tuesday; Jochiji 8 minutes, 300 and 100 yen, 9:00 to 16:30; Meigetsuin 10 minutes, 500 and 300 yen, 9:00 to 16:00, rear garden 500 yen more in season; Kenchoji 15 minutes on foot or 5 by bus, 500 and 200 yen, cash only, 8:30 to 16:30, free on 24 October 2026; Tsurugaoka Hachimangu about 20 minutes on, grounds free, treasure house 200 yen; Kamakura Station 10 minutes from the shrine. A handwritten note picks Engakuji and Kenchoji if there is only time for two.
North is at the top. The minutes on the left are each temple's own figure from the station; the Kenchoji-to-Hachimangu leg is our subtraction.

Fees and hours at a glance

Temple From the station Adult Child Hours
Engakuji 1 min ¥500 ¥200 (elementary and junior high) 8:30–16:30 Mar–Nov, 8:30–16:00 Dec–Feb; leave by 17:00 / 16:30
Tokeiji 4 min free (offering) free 9:00–16:00
Jochiji 8 min ¥300 ¥100 (junior high and under) 9:00–16:30
Meigetsuin 10 min ¥500 ¥300 (elementary and junior high) 9:00–16:00; may change in June
Kenchoji 15 min (5 by bus) ¥500 ¥200 (elementary and junior high) 8:30–16:30

Adults pay ¥1,800 for all four; a child of elementary or junior high age pays ¥800 (¥200 + ¥100 + ¥300 + ¥200). None of the five lists a group discount, and Engakuji says outright that it has none. Kenchoji takes cash only. The others don't say, so carry coins and notes for the whole road.

Kita-Kamakura or Kamakura Station?

Kita-Kamakura. The temples sit on the road between the two stations, so starting at Kita-Kamakura means you walk downhill-ish toward the shrine, the shops and the Enoden, and finish where the rest of the day begins. Start at Kamakura Station and you walk the same road twice or pay for a bus back.

The one case for Kamakura Station is a late arrival. Kenchoji stops entry at 16:30 and Engakuji at 16:30 (16:00 in winter), so if you reach the area after 15:00, ride to Kamakura, take the bus to Kenchoji (about 10 minutes) and see that one temple well.

Engakuji (¥500): the one at the station

Engakuji is a minute from the station by its own count. Entry is ¥500 if you're of high school age or older, ¥200 for elementary and junior high students. Hours run by season:

Months Entry Leave the grounds by
March – November 8:30–16:30 17:00
December – February 8:30–16:00 16:30

The gate opened at 8:00 until 1 September 2023; it's 8:30 now, so an older guidebook is half an hour out. There are no fixed closing days, though the temple says it may shut for a typhoon or snow. The Benten tea house on the hill inside opens at 9:00 and closes an hour before the gate.

Tokeiji (free): an offering instead of a ticket

Tokeiji is 4 minutes from the station. It charges no admission. The temple's own words are that it asks every visitor to pray at the main hall and leave a coin in the offering box, so treat the box as the ticket desk. Hours are 9:00 to 16:00 all year. The treasure house and the shop close on the first and third Tuesday of each month, so a Tuesday visit is grounds only.

Jochiji (¥300): the cheapest ticket on the road

8 minutes from the station. ¥300 from high school age, ¥100 for junior high and under, and a multilingual audio guide for ¥500. Open 9:00 to 16:30 with no regular closing days (it may pause in bad weather). Jochiji is also the first stop on the Daibutsu hiking course to the Great Buddha, which we cover in Kamakura hiking trails. If you plan to walk that course, Jochiji is where you leave the road.

Meigetsuin (¥500): the hydrangea temple

10 minutes from the station, up a side road. ¥500 for adults (high school and up), ¥300 for elementary and junior high students, which makes it the dearest child ticket of the five. Hours are 9:00 to 16:00, and the tourist association notes they may change in June, the hydrangea month. The rear garden behind the main hall opens only in the iris season and the autumn-leaf season, for ¥500 more. Outside those seasons it stays closed.

Meigetsuin has no official website, so the figures here come from the Kamakura City Tourist Association's facility page rather than the temple itself.

Kenchoji (¥500): the big one at the far end

Kenchoji is the last temple on the road and the one with the most ground to cover: the Tenen hiking course starts at the top of its grounds. It's 15 minutes on foot from Kita-Kamakura, or about 5 minutes on the Enoden bus bound for Kamakura Station (stop: Kenchoji). Adults (high school age and over) pay ¥500, elementary and junior high students ¥200, cash only, and the gate is open 8:30 to 16:30. There's a car park in front of the main gate: 20 cars and 5 buses, ¥600 per car, 8:30–16:30, no reservations.

Kenchoji has announced free admission on 24 October 2026. If your dates are flexible, that Saturday saves ¥500 a head.

Behind the halls, the path climbs to Hansobo, the shrine at the top of the grounds where the Tenen hiking course starts. The temple fee covers it.

From Kenchoji to Kamakura Station on foot

Kenchoji's own page gives 30 minutes on foot to Kamakura Station. Tsurugaoka Hachimangu lies on the way, and the city's page puts the shrine 10 minutes from the station's east exit, so the Kenchoji-to-shrine leg is about 20 minutes by our subtraction. The shrine grounds are free; its treasure house is ¥200 for adults (junior high and over) and ¥100 for elementary students, 8:30–16:00.

If the walk has had enough of you, the same Enoden bus that passes Kenchoji reaches Kamakura Station in about 10 minutes. We don't quote the bus fare, because the temple pages don't give it; pay on board with an IC card.

From Kamakura Station the Enoden takes you on to the Great Buddha, Hasedera and Enoshima. For the afternoon half of the day, including closing times, see the Kamakura day trip itinerary; for the fees on that side of town, the Kamakura temple fees calculator.

Which temples, if not all five?

Our pick for a two-temple morning is Engakuji and Kenchoji: the first because it's a minute from the train, the second because it's the largest and sits at the Kamakura end of the walk. Together that's ¥1,000, with the 15-minute road between them.

Add Meigetsuin only in June, or for the rear garden in iris or autumn-leaf season. Outside those weeks it is a quiet ¥500 garden, pleasant but not the reason to come. Tokeiji costs nothing and is on the way, so there's no case for skipping it. Jochiji is for people continuing onto the Daibutsu trail.

Here's the interpretation we'd stand behind: the fees on this road are flat (¥500, ¥500, ¥500, ¥300, free), so price tells you nothing about which to choose. Choose by hours. Engakuji and Kenchoji open at 8:30, the other three at 9:00, so a train that lands you at Kita-Kamakura at 8:30 buys you a near-empty Engakuji before the 9:00 temples open.

Getting to Kita-Kamakura from Tokyo

Take the JR Yokosuka Line from Tokyo, Shinagawa or Yokohama. From the Tokaido Line or the Shonan-Shinjuku Line, change at Ofuna (the stop before Kita-Kamakura). The tourist association puts Kamakura at about an hour from Tokyo and about 30 minutes from Yokohama. We quote no JR fare on this page; pay with a Suica or Pasmo card.

Two things the fare calculators on this site already know: the JR line is not covered by the Enoshima-Kamakura Freepass, which is an Odakyu and Enoden ticket, and the Enoden's own 1-day pass only starts paying off once you're past Kamakura Station. Coming from Hakone? The Hakone or Kamakura page compares the two days.

Guided days that start in Kita-Kamakura

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Frequently asked questions

Which Kita-Kamakura temple is free?

Tokeiji. It charges no admission and asks for an offering at the main hall instead. Tsurugaoka Hachimangu's grounds, at the Kamakura end of the walk, are free too; only its treasure house (¥200) is ticketed.

Can I pay the temple fees by card or IC card?

Kenchoji says cash only. Engakuji, Jochiji and Meigetsuin don't state a payment method on the pages we read, so assume cash at all of them.

Is the walk from Kita-Kamakura to Kamakura Station steep?

Kenchoji gives 30 minutes on foot to the station along the main road. The long climbs are inside the grounds, not between them: the Tenen course map allows 20 minutes from Kenchoji's gate up to Hansobo, and you can skip that part.

Official sources (checked 2026-10-13)

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