It’ll be my great pleasure to prepare a customized tour for you based on your specific requests and interests. I’ll also be very flexible about the schedule of the tour day based on your health conditions, weather, etc., so that you can really enjoy the tour.
At your hotel or place of your request
Some must-see spots if you visit Kamakura for the first time, or/and the spots that you would like to visit among candidate spots I inform you based on your specific requests or interests.
At your hotel or place of your request
It'll be my pleasure to help you to make your own tour based on your requests and interests.
You and I will select about 3-5 sightseeing spots where you would like to visit within the tour hours (about 8 hours).
Some candidate sightseeing spots are following (1-4 are most popular spots).
1. Great Buddha (Kotokuin Temple) (known as Kamakura Daibutsu)
2. Hasedera Temple (famous for its statue of Kannnon, the goddess of mercy. also can enjoy a great view of coastal city of Kamakura from observatory.)
3. Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine (Shogun Minamoto Yoritomo made it the core of planned city of Kamakura where the first military government was placed in Japan.)
4. Komachi-dori Street and Wakamiya-oji Street (shopping streets between Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine and Kamaura station. about 15 minutes by walk)
5. Hokokuji Temple (famous for a beautiful bamboo garden. can enjoy a Japanese green tea (maccha) and sweet at the bamboo garden (500 Japanese Yen)
6. Jyomyoji Temple (near Hokokuji Temple, can enjoy a Japanese green tea (maccha) and sweet looking at a rock garden (600 Japanese Yen))
7. Kenchoji Temple (first among the Five Great Zen-temples in Kamakura founded in 1253)
8. Enkakuji Temple (second among the Five Great Zen-temples in Kamakura founded in 1282)
etc.
guide fee, hotel pick-up in Tokyo or Yokohama area
Transportation fee (you and guide), lunch, dinner, entrance fee, etc...
(see Q&A corner about the transportation fee and the entrance fee)
I can also guide you in Okinawa, Kagoshima, Kumamoto, Nagasaki, Shimane, Hiroshima, Kobe, Osaka, Nara, Kyoto, Shiga, Kanazawa, Nagoya, Gifu, Nagano, Niigata, etc., if you pay my transportation fee between Tokyo or Yokohama and these places, my hotel fee, and cost of my meals.
It'll take about one hour from Tokyo to Kamakura by JR(Japan Railway) train.
A1. There are many useful web sites. For example, you can get info by input 'kamakura japan' on the Internet.
A2. (As of Jan. 1, 2019)
1) Transportation by trains (JR/subways) from Tokyo/Shibuya/Shinagawa station to Kamakura station (about 60 minutes) : About 1000 Japanese Yen(JY)/one way /Adult.
2) Transportation by local train (Enoden line) from Kamakura station to Hase station (to visit Great Buddha and Hasedera Temple): About 190 Japanese Yen (JY)/one way/Adult.
3) We may Kamakura's local bus, if necessary.
A3. Entrance fee: (as of Jan. 1, 2019)
1. Great Buhhda (Kotokuin Temple): 200 Japanese Yen (JY)
2. Hasedera Temple: 300 JY
3. Hokokuji Temple: 200 JY
4. Jyomyoji Temple: 100 JY
5. Kenchoji Temple: 300 JY
6. Enkakuji Temple: 300 JY
I can’t say enough about our Guide Shin or the 2 days of tours he planned and took my group on. He epitomizes the Japanese culture, he is friendly, helpful, accommodating and caring. My group could not say enough about him. Shin truly kicked our Japanese vacation off with a bang! When we parted ways on the last day, it truly felt like we were saying goodbye to a friend. For anyone planning a trip to Japan and more specifically Tokyo, please reach out to Shin. I want to thank Shin once again for his professionalism, knowledge and friendliness. Cheers from Expedia Cruises Oakville South!
Dear Mike K., Thank you sincerely for your generous and thoughtful review. It was an absolute honor and pleasure to be your group’s guide on July 23 and 24. I thoroughly enjoyed our conversations and the time spent with you and your group. Despite the intense heat and high humidity, I hope the experience was memorable for you and your group. Wishing you and your group a delightful and healthy continuation of the upcoming cruise in Japan. Please give my best regards to all of your group members. Sincerely Yours, Shin (Shinichiro Hazeki)
Shin-go all the way! (as this is appropriately Christmas time) Our one-day tour in Nikko could not have been better. Shin-San took us everywhere, explained everything in detail, and spent more time with us than required. His English was impeccable. Lunch was also a pleasant surprise. The place looked like a cafeteria but we had the best udon in all of Japan here. A good time was had by all. Thank you Shin. Phoebe (write for the group)
Dear Phoebe, Thank you for your wonderful comments. I’m very sorry to be late to add my comments to it because I just finished my guiding jobs this week. I hope your stay in Japan during December 4th to 20th went very well, and now you have a lot of good memories about it. The day with you during one-day tour in Nikko is a wonderful memory for me. Please come back again to Japan any time. We’ll always welcome you. Very best wishes for health and happiness of you and your families in 2024! Sincerely Yours, Shin
We were a group of 14 who hired Shin for 3 days before and after the Tokyo marathon. Shin delivered exactly what we were looking for with little guidance. We came away with a good understanding of Tokyo, its people, culture, architecture, history and sights. It is tough to find a more kind individual anywhere. Although a very diverse group we all thoroughly enjoyed our tours of the city. Shin was very patient with us. If touring Tokyo you can’t go wrong with Shin.
Dear Hugh, Arigato Gozaimasu！ I hope you and your friends enjoyed Tokyo Marathon 2023 on March 5th and the stay in Japan. It’s my great honor and pleasure to be a guide for your group. It’s also a very exciting experience and memory for me to cheer for you and other runners of your group at Tokyo Marathon 2023. Thank you for wonderful time and please give my best regards to all the members of your group. Sincerely Yours, Shin (Shinichiro Hazeki)
Meeting Shinichiro became a real window to today's Japan. Very good English (lots of job experience in the USA), really great mutual understanding. Thank you, Shinichiro!
Dear Irene, I hope you returned home safely. Thank you very much for your review comments and wonderful time during our tour from Yokohama to Kamakura on October 14. I really enjoyed it and it's precious memory for me. The book 'At Home in Japan' (about today's Japan) by Rebecca Otowa will be delivered to me from Amazon next week. Very best wishes for health and happiness of both of you. Sincerely Yours, Shinichiro Hazeki (Shin)