Kamakura Hasedera

Hasedera is built up a slope above Kamakura's western shore, so the compound is terraced: a pond garden at the bottom, the main hall halfway, and a viewpoint at the top looking over the town to Sagami Bay. The image in the main hall is a standing eleven-headed Kannon of about 9.18 metres, gilded, one of the largest wooden statues in Japan, and by temple tradition it was carved in the eighth century from the same camphor trunk as the image at Hasedera in Nara. Behind the hall a cave holds carvings of Benzaiten and small figures left by visitors. What draws the crowds is June: about 2,500 hydrangeas on a switchback path up the hillside, which is managed with numbered timed tickets because the path is single file. The Jizo figures in the grounds are offerings for children who died, including before birth.

What you actually see

• A nine-metre Kannon - gilded wood, among the largest such statues in Japan.
• A terraced hillside - pond garden, main hall and a viewpoint over Sagami Bay.
• 2,500 hydrangeas - a switchback path managed by timed ticket in June.
• Jizo figures - rows of small statues left as offerings for children.

When to go

June for hydrangeas, November for maples. Two hours.

Honest expectations

June queues for the hydrangea path can run over an hour even with a numbered ticket. Entry is charged and the hydrangea path is sometimes extra. The compound is steep with many steps. The Jizo grounds are a place of mourning - photograph with restraint.

Nearby

The Great Buddha at Kotokuin is a short walk; Kamakura station is east.