Photographing the Famous Japanese City Ruined By Tourism
In travel, you learn many different things.
Some are interesting or important lessons about yourself, others are things about the country, the people, or just how the world works.
I think photography is a similar way.
When I take photos, sometimes I chance upon moments or times that I think really change how I see the world.
Some are big and important revelations, but most of the times it’s just the little things.
On my second day trip to Kamakura, a coastal city in Japan, I had one of these moments.
One that changed the way I saw travel, the world, and the city.
You may remember from our first day trip to Kamakura, but we had unfinished business.
I got some good shots here and there of the Hachimangu Shrine and the Hokokuji Bamboo Forest, but the main aesthetic sunny green train shot I wanted, we didn’t get.
So about a week later, I made the effort to come again.
And what I saw surprised me.
Over the years Kamakura has seen waves and waves of tourists gathered to see the beautiful city.
So many that some might even say they’ve “ruined” the city.
Because what was once a peaceful quiet scenic town has now turned into an amusement park for foreigners.
Today, we’re going to explore a few different places in Kamakura, the lessons and changes I’ve gone through from this second day, and of course, I’ll share with you the many photos I’ve taken.
Let’s begin.
Hase-dera Temple
When traveling, time is of the essence.
We have all this stuff we wanna do, and very little time to do it all.
Which means picking and choosing between spots, preferably close to each other.
Out of the many places I’ve visited in Japan, this one spot in particular was great because I could see and do many things in one.
This is the Hase-dera Temple.
It’s a fairly popular spot to visit in Kamakura because of it’s unique architecture and views.
And it’s great to go to, especially if you’re on a time crunch, or you’re just lazy.
Going here, you can do multiple things in one without having to tire yourself out going back and forth.
There’s a small entrance fee to get in, but once you enter, you can see the various buildings and architecture, explore the different gardens, enter the cave filled with Buddhist statues, and even check out the viewpoint overlooking the city and the Sagami Bay.
The ponds here even have koi fish swimming around.
I got some nice shots here and there, but nothing crazy.
My favorite are probably these ones of the dozens of Ema hanging or the entrance way to this temple here.
It’s quite a popular spot, so when I went it was a bit crowded.
But I still feel like it was worth the visit since I got to do a bunch of things in a short span of time.
…6.7?
Hase-dera Temple Spot Score: 6.7
Kotoku-in Temple’s Great Buddha
Near the Hase-dera Temple is perhaps the most famous temple in all of Kamakura.
Known for its giant Buddha statue, the Kotoku-in Temple is worth a stop - since there’s nothing quite like it anywhere else.
There’s a small entrance fee to get in and the place is often crowded and filled with visitors.
So getting photos can be a bit hard since everyone’s trying to do the same thing.
You can tell from these shots how packed the walkway gets, but I was able to angle the Buddha and get a few shots without anyone in it.
You can actually even go inside the statue, although there’s a separate fee to do so.
So I got a shot of the Buddha here, and a decent light perspective shot here, but overall there wasn’t much else to do.
The giant Buddha was still pretty cool, but as a photo spot as a whole, I’d give it…a 6.3?
Neat, and I’d definitely recommend going, but probably just for a quick stop.
Kotoku-in Temple Spot Score: 6.3
Food and Coffee
In terms of places to eat, stop by and rest, and plan your next destination, I’ll share a few with you guys.
The first, is coffee.
paso by 27 Coffee Roasters
I’m not gonna lie - this might have been the best drip coffee I’ve had in Japan, maybe ever.
The coffee shop itself is located near the coastline of Kamakura and hidden in the middle of several neighborhoods, so it’s actually quite hard to find.
Getting here was a bit difficult because you have to walk through alleyways and it felt like I was intruding in people’s space.
But exploring the neighborhoods and seeing the different houses was actually kind of cool.
If Japan and Hawaii had a baby, it’d be Kamakura.
Anyways, once I finally found the shop, I sat down to relax, and enjoy the area.
The setup was like a classic Japanese wood room, and sitting down was both calming and peaceful.
I used this as a moment of relaxation to get away from the crowds I was fighting all day.
And thankfully there was no one there - probably because it was so hard to find.
The place itself only has drip coffee, so if you drink lattes or other things, you’re out of luck.
But don’t worry, it’s worth it.
The drip coffee was served in a flask, kind of like a beaker, where you’d pour the coffee into a separate cup.
The beaker keeps the coffee warm so it’s still good to drink half an hour later.
I’m a sucker for slow moments, so sitting there sipping the best drip coffee I’ve ever had, looking out the window into a pretty neighborhood, surrounded by no one, and thinking about life was possibly the best part of this entire day.
paso by 27 Coffee Spot Score: 9.3
It was amazing, but just note that I am less strict on my food scoring than my photo spot scoring.
Woof Curry Shop
When it comes to food, restaurants near the main attractions will often be crowded.
So you can try your luck, but if you don’t mind walking or exploring a bit, you can save yourself a bit of wait time.
So for lunch, I stopped by a small spot called the “Woof Curry Shop”.
It was a bit of a walk away from the main areas, which I was fine with.
Honestly, I picked it because it was further out and much less crowded than the other spots.
As for the shop itself, the people were nice, setup was cool (very neat ambience), and the food was bomb.
I believe I got the special curry, which hit the spot as I was craving curry that day.
Woof Curry Shop Food Score: 8.5
Kamakurakōkōmae Station (Slam Dunk Crossing)
This might be the worst photo spot in all of Japan.
And it’s honestly what changed my impression of Kamakura and tourism in general.
I mentioned earlier how some small moments in travel can leave lasting impressions and change how you see the world.
This was the photo spot that did it.
In Kamakura is a train station that’s become a very famous tourist attraction over the years.
You may recognize this spot as a scene featured in the Slam Dunk anime.
This is the Kamakurakōkōmae Station.
It’s an otherwise regular train station along the coast of Kamakura.
But when paired with the city’s aesthetic looking green train on a bright sunny day, you can get some really nice photos.
Because of this, tourists come from all over the world.
Which unfortunately makes the spot overcrowded, the train overly packed, and photos impossible to get.
I came here hoping to get some of the shots I wanted, but just found swaths of people trying to do the same.
Even the small station dock itself was filled with people just waiting to record or film the train.
And I started to question whether or not the shot was worth the trouble.
I could only imagine how annoyed I’d be if I was a local or resident, just trying to get on with my daily life, and hundreds of people every day were standing outside taking pictures.
This feeling led to what I think was my best photo of the day (more on this later).
So this famous shot as a whole - I think it’s a nice aesthetic if the weather is right (it was cloudy for me by the way), and if you come at the right time when no one’s around (sunrise).
But if you’re like me, allergic to crowds, it’s probably not worth the view.
…4.2?
Kamakurakōkōmae Station Spot Score: 4.2
Enoshima
For my final stop of the day, I decided to visit Enoshima, a small island off the coast of Kamakura.
There’s a lot to do here, and you could spend an entire day exploring the island, but I’d recommend at least visiting the shrine.
It’s one of the first things you’ll see after crossing the Enoshima Benten Bridge.
Typically on clear days you can get a view of Mt. Fuji as well, but there were a fair bit of clouds when I went.
To get to the shrine, just follow the path up until you reach the top.
Along the way you’ll find yourself in a narrow street filled with lots of unique shops.
You can shop here, eat here, or just enjoy the walk.
And if you enjoy street photography, you can do some of that too.
At the top you’ll see a large torii gate.
From here, you can look down and catch a view of the island and Kamakura below.
It’s not a fully clear view because of all the buildings, but I still thought it was neat.
If you want a more open view of the bay below, try going to the Sea Candle.
And if you want to relax and enjoy the sunset, or get away from the crowds, there are nearby beaches where you can do so.
Overall, I found it to be a great spot for both photography and to explore.
I got a few nice shots of the sky, beaches, and scenery around - but nothing crazy.
I’m sure the view would’ve been better if Mt. Fuji was visible.
So although Enoshima can be crowded at times, it’s still worth the visit - especially if you’ll be in Kamakura anyways.
And although I didn’t get to see and do everything Enoshima had to offer, I still had a nice time.
…6.9?
Enoshima Spot Score: 6.9
Ruined by Tourism
After all this, you may be thinking: Kamakura seems like a great place to visit.
And I don’t disagree.
But this whole second day I couldn’t help but feel the tension in the air.
I couldn’t shake the feeling that Kamakura, in essence, is a beautiful city, ruined by tourism.
There’s a ton of great unique stuff to see and do.
But the experience of it all is simply not as nice when there’s so many people.
And as Kamakura grows in popularity, this may only get worse.
It’s because of this that I’d consider this shot to be my best photo of the day.
It wasn’t the green train photo I initially wanted, but from a street photography perspective, it spoke to me.
Throughout the entire day, as I explored different areas and saw different things, certain themes kept popping up.
As a street photographer, it’s good to read into these things, because they give you a clue on what you should actually be photographing.
So although I wanted a nice crisp sunny green train to make into a print and put on walls, that wasn’t the theme of the day.
What Kamakura was showing me was it’s current state as a popular destination spot in Japan (in 2024).
This state was a mixture between a beautiful city filled with locals just living their normal lives and thousands of people who swarm from around the world on a day to day basis.
If you can imagine what it’d be like to live in Kamakura, I think you’d get a sense of this overarching theme.
Me personally, I think it would suck.
I’m just trying to live my life, go to school, go to my job, go home, and every day there are thousands of people blocking the streets, slowing down traffic, taking pictures, whatever.
I would be annoyed, get tired, and would want to leave or escape to somewhere more quiet.
But as a resident you’d also understand the benefits of tourism.
More people coming to the city means more money, more jobs, more attention.
Tourism is something that benefits the city as a whole and can contribute to preserving a lot of these historical shrines and temples.
And you’d also probably be quite proud of your hometown for it’s worldwide popularity.
So there’s this bit of unspoken tension in the air between what’s both a good and a bad thing.
And I could imagine how it’d be weird to speak up about your distaste for tourism when your city is also benefiting from it.
Living here could be suffocating, to say the least.
This shot captured that feeling perfectly - and that’s why I think it’s the best one I got this day.
In it, you can see the crowds of people staring and waiting for the train to pass by so they can record videos and take pictures.
You can also see the train itself is filled with people, both foreigners and locals.
And you can see a boy, maybe on his way back from school, staring back with a mixture of tiredness, indifference, annoyance, or numbness.
The whole shot just feels clogged.
And it gives off the very feeling I was describing earlier: suffocation.
Besides all the history, the culture, and the beautiful shrines and temples, that’s what Kamakura felt like to me.
This picture bottles all of those feelings and emotions up into one.
It’s not the prettiest, it’s not the most print worthy, but it’s impactful, makes sense, and speaks to me on a deeper level.
Through this shot you can get a real sense of Kamakura, without the rose tinted glasses.
This IS Kamakura.
So at the end of the day, I don’t want you thinking Kamakura isn’t worth the visit.
It’s a beautiful city.
And although it’s a bit ruined by tourism, it is still beautiful.
This article is not going to stop crowds of people coming, and it’s not meant to.
I just wanted to highlight what I learned, saw, and what changed for me after going there.
I think I was able to catch a glimpse of what the city actually was and I was lucky enough to get that in a single shot.
And despite everything, I really enjoyed my time in Kamakura.
Thanks so much for reading and stay tuned for the next article - we’ll be exploring a different part of Japan.
Also, both Kamakura and Mt. Fuji shirts and prints are available.
For prints, we now have a more affordable poster version, while the shirts will only be here for a limited time.
Thanks again, have a great day.
