Many people who visit Japan never make it out of big cities like Tokyo, or Osaka. While those are all fantastic places to visit, it might surprise you how easy it is to take a day trip from the city out to the country. There are dozens of peaceful rural towns you can visit with ease thanks to the widespread high-speed train network. One of my favourite day trips from Tokyo is to the great seaside city of Kamakura! Kamakura’s laid-back atmosphere and proximity to both the water and mountains make it the perfect place to come and explore. You can stroll through ancient temples, hike through the countryside, spend a day at the beach but my favourite thing to do is eat! A Kamakura Food Tour is the perfect way to taste the unique ingredients and flavours these regional cities are famous for!
There are so many amazing things to eat and drink in Kamamkura so I would recommend reading through this guide and making a list of your top favourites. It’s almost impossible to try it all without getting way too full! But many of these items are also easily saved for later and can even be brought home with your as souvenirs for friends and family, or just for yourself.
Kamakura is a comfortable hour-long train ride from Tokyo, making it one of the easiest day-trip. If you leave from the central hub of Tokyo Station you can get directly on the Yokosuka Line. This line arrives directly at Kamakura Station. No need to change any lines. From anywhere else in Tokyo you can still arrive quickly in Kamakura with generally just one change of trains. Outside Kamakura station, head out the WEST exit and make your way to the great big red torii gates that mark the entrance to Komachi Street, famed for all its incredible street food.
Komachi Street or Komachi-dori is one of the six historic main roads that formed the initial layout of the city of Kamakura. Today, the street is the most popular shopping area for residents and tourists alike. You can find everything from souvenirs to local treats and lovely restaurants. While the street is pretty busy, don’t let that put you off, as everyone is here to enjoy all the amazing things to eat and drink in Kamakura! Because the road is so popular, it is designated as a pedestrian-only zone. Komachi Street is a great place to wander along and try out different local street foods.
Hydrangeas are Kamakura’s iconic flower. They can be found in gardens and flower beds everywhere you look in the Spring. They are a local obsession. Just as Sakura’s seem to be a Japanese obsession, Kamakura residents love their hydrangeas. At Komachi Chaya, you can get not only a hydrangea black tea but also a beautiful kakigori inspired by the colours of the hydrangea. Traditionally a kakigori is either plain or covered in toppings. But this one is served with a tray of various fruit compotes on the side to pour on top to your personal preference! Such a unique way to serve kakigori, so the fruit doesn’t immediately melt the ice.
Asahina is a tiny shop that sells freshly made fish cakes, or “Kamaboko,” from various fish and seafood found on the coast of Kamakura. They serve both steamed and fried versions of the fish cakes made in a variety of flavours. One of the most popular is the octopus (tako) filled with cabbage, onions and pickled ginger. This is almost like a flat version of takoyaki, but honestly, I liked it even better! They also serve shirasu (whitebait) fritters here. Shirasu is the specialty fish of Kamakura, and eating it inside a fritter is a great way if you’re worried you might not like the taste as the fried batter compliments the salty fish perfctly.
Daifuku is one of Japan’s most popular desserts, made from mochi with a sweet red bean filling. Here in Kamakura, they have a very unique take on the sweet; the Zunda Daifuku. Zunda is soybeans, also known as edamame. These savoury beans are ground up into a paste and placed inside the mochi. This gives it a much less sweet flavour than the traditional red bean variety. No for everyone, but worth giving a try! You can find the Zunda Daifuku at KYO Kamakura.
One of the most popular souvenirs to bring home from Kamakura are these traditional Japanese sweets called Kintsuba. These treats contain a sweet paste, that is moulded into a square cube, then covered in a thin batter and fried. The little cubes of goodness look like tiny presents! Kintsuba comes in flavours like matcha, sakura, lemon, soybean, sweet potato, black sesame and chocolate. They are very crumbly, and a bit dry so best enjoyed alongside a cup of warm matcha. The bean paste simply dissolves in your when eaten this way and is the perfect complement to a serving of afternoon tea. Since these come in pre-packaged boxes, they are a great souvenir or treat to take back to the hotel.
Hannari Inari has an excellent option if you’re interested in trying Shirasu but don’t want to eat them plain. They have recently come up with the ‘Shirasuka.’ The Shirasuka is a Japanese omelette filled with Shirasu. These are served on a stick to be easily eaten on the go. The fish adds an umami flavour to the egg and balances out its sweetness.
A “rusk” was something I had never heard of before coming to Kamakura. A Rusk or “rasuku” is a slice of bread that has been covered in butter and sugar and then toasted until it is crisp like a crouton. The sugar caramelizes while cooking adding to the rich flavour. Kamakurayama Rusk has taken the treats to another level. Their rusks come in these vortex designs with swirling colours that are mesmerizing. They even come in different shapes as well. But what really makes them unique are the flavours. You can find macha, burdock, fruit sala, berry shortcake, earl grey, caramel, and more!
Kamakura Ichibanya is a shop that makes fresh senbei right there on the street. The smell wafts down the road, guiding you over like in a trance. Senbei are Japanese rice crackera. The ones sold here come in many different flavours, including the most popular; nori wrapped topped in a sweet soy sauce.
Also hidden away in this shop’s window are fresh Taiyaki. Taiyaki is a Japanese fish-shaped cake, most commonly made from a pancake-like batter and filled with red bean paste. The taiyaki served here is made from a dough that is more like a croissant. It is so buttery and flakey! One of the most local flavours you can get inside your taiyaki is the shirasu, or whitebait, fish-filled version. This isn’t for everyone, but the salty fish inside the flakey pastry is very similar to fish and chips. But they also have sweet flavours like custard, red bean and apple if you’d prefer to avoid the fish.
My favourite stop on the food tour is Sakura no Yumemiya. This shop sells a variety of fantastic dango. Dango are Japanese dumplings made from rice flour. They are very similar to mochi, but the balls of rice flour are smaller, the size of a marble, and steamed to make them super bouncy instead of chewy. While dango usually comes in just one of two flavours, this shop has dozens and dozens of toppings that jazz it up.
You can get Sakura, chestnut, roasted soybean, taro, honey lemon, strawberry, edamame, and even nori wrapped! You can also even get one stick of dango covered in a mixture of different toppings! The best way to try all their other flavours without getting too full!
Sugi Honey Shop almost always has a line out the door, and there is a good reason for that! The shop specializes in honey made on Kyushu Island. Their yuzu lemon honey is one of the most popular and insanely delicious in tea or spread over a scone with cream. If you don’t have the room in your luggage for a whole bottle of honey, then you can try their famous honeycomb ice cream. The soft serve ice cream is served with a drizzle of their renowned honey as well as a slice of natural honeycomb on the side!
Kamakura Mameya is best known for the candy-coloured dried nuts and legumes. This place is so popular among the locals so prepare to wait. Inside you’ll find peanuts, Komachi beans, soybeans, Koiso pea, broad beans, as well as dried seasonal produce like grapes, tangerines and Sakura. Each one of these treats is covered in brightly coloured toppings making everything look like a piece of candy even when it is actually pretty healthy!
Hachi Kamakura specialized in a newly created dessert that has taken Japan by storm. These are “Cheese in the Baum.” Strange name, I know. The dessert is a take on the “Baumkuchen”, a spit cake. The cake is baked in a similar fashion to cooking meat on a spit, where the dough is slowly wrapped around the spit, so it cooks in layers. When you cut into the cake, the layers resemble the rings of a tree. The word Baumkuchen literally translates to “tree cake” or “log cake”. But this version adds another dimension with a dollop of baked cheesecake added to the hollow center.
If you’re still on the hunt for more matcha, then you must check out Kamakura Chacha. This shop specializes in matcha ice cream but what makes it unique is that you can choose between 5 different levels of matcha strength. The stronger the matcha, the darker green the ice cream is! If you like the flavour but don’t like it too strong, level 1 is a great option. But for those who LOVE matcha’s taste, the level 5 is strong but so well balanced with the sweetness of the ice cream!
The lines can be pretty long at this shop, but it’s well worth it! Momiji Chaya are famous for their matcha tiramisu! The entire dessert is served within the most aesthetic bamboo box and perfectly levelled out to make it look like it is merely a dessert cube. The whole thing is covered in a dusting of fresh macha to add a bit of bitterness to balance the tiramisu’s sweetness.
If you come to Japan, the last thing you might think of eating is German food, but one of the most popular spots in Kamakura is this german sausage spot called Imbiss! What I love about these sausages is that instead of a typical stale bun, they are served either without a bun at all or the soft white bread bun, like eating a cloud! You can get them filled with cheese, herbs, spices and even german smoked. They also come with all sorts of toppings to your preference. To go with your sausage, you can also try a pint of local Kamakura beer! The perfect pairing.
If you enjoyed the Shirasu omelette earlier, I would implore you to try out a Shirasu-don. This is a whitebait rice bowl. The Shirasu served like this really brings out the fish’s flavour and is one of the most traditional ways to enjoy the local catch of the day. While other shops usually serve the Shirasu raw, Kamakura Karari also offers it broiled or cooked in a tempura fritter! I opted for the fritter, and it was amazing!
“Omiyage” is a gift or souvenir that you bring back from vacation to give to friends, coworkers, or family. Because these are meant to be shared with many people, boxes of omiyage contain individually wrapped treats. Different prefectures are well known for their famous regional omiyage. At Abre Noir, you can get “Kamakura-ware“. It is a sweet matcha dough filled with black sesame paste! I love sesame paste, and to me, it is more delicious than anko (red bean paste) as it feels a little smoother. Each one of these miniatures desserts is sealed for individual consumption.
A new Instagram-famous treat in Kamakura is this ramune-strawberry twist ice cream cone topped with little heart-shaped marshmallows from Imoyoshi Yakata. While it certainly is one of the most kawaii (cute) looking desserts, it’s not just all for the gram. I LOVE ramune ice cream! Ramune is a Japanese soft drink with a clean and crispt flavour. Along with the creamy strawberry-milk ice cream, it makes such a good combo!
The last thing to pick up before you leave is a pack of “Hato Sabure.” Hato Sabure was invented during the Meiji era in Kamakura. “Hato” means “dove” in Japanese and “sabure” means “shortbread’. So together they make dove-shaped shortbread. But don’t worry, it’s only named that for the shape, no doves were harmed in the making of this treat. The nearby Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū shrine is dedicated to the god Hachiman whose name also contains the character for the dove inspiring the cookie’s creation.
Hopefully, you found some amazing things to eat and drink while here in Kamakura. If you are interested in making a full day out of your visit here you can head over and read my blog post guide to Kamakura. Let me know in the comment which item you’re most excited to try out!
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