Kamakura · Kita-Kamakura

Tokeiji

How to get there and what to see · facts checked 2026-10-24

For some 600 years the temple where women could escape a marriage; today a quiet flower temple with no admission fee.

Nearest station: 4 min walk from Kita-Kamakura Station
Hours: 9:00–16:00
Admission: Free (the admission fee was dropped in 2020)

What to see

Main hall (1935), home to the seated Shaka Buddha.
Suigetsu Kannon: a statue of Kannon leaning on a rock to gaze at the moon on the water (a Kanagawa Cultural Property). It can be seen only on the 18th of each month, 10:00–15:00, except in August.
Matsugaoka Hozo: the treasure house with objects handed down at the temple.
Temple bell: cast in 1350 for another temple, Fudarakuji, and now a Kanagawa Cultural Property.

Seasons

The temple calls itself a flower temple, with plants in bloom through the seasons; it does not publish a month-by-month guide.

History

Founded in 1285 by Kakusan Shido-ni, the widow of Hojo Tokimune. In an age when women could not ask for a divorce, a woman who fled here could have her marriage dissolved, a rule the temple kept for about 600 years, until the Meiji era.

Getting there

A four-minute walk from Kita-Kamakura Station on the JR Yokosuka Line.

Address：1367 Yamanouchi, Kamakura, Kanagawa

Directions in Google Maps →Official website →

Before you go

Photography is not allowed anywhere in the grounds, with cameras or phones (since 2022). The treasure house closes on the first and third Tuesdays. The main gate is being rebuilt, with completion planned for November 1, 2026.

Map of sights in Kamakura

Tap a red pin to open that sight's page.

Nearby sights

← Kamakura guide: trains from Tokyo

Sources

Hours, prices and history come from the official websites and public tourism pages listed here. They can change, so check the official site before you go.