Kamakura's Top 5 Hydrangea Spots | See the Sights in This City of Flowers

This temple and its famed grounds are sprawled along a hillside that reaches far above the city of Kamakura, with panoramic views of the streets below. It's a bit of a climb to get up all the stairs, but it's worth the effort when you see what awaits in the temple gardens: more than 500 colorful hydrangea bushes in all shapes, sizes, and colors. The hydrangea garden is lined with narrow paths, and for a limited time at the peak of the season, it's even lit up after dark.

Hasedera Temple (長谷寺)
3-11-2 Hase, Kamakura, Kanagawa
Hours: 8:00-17:00
Admission Fee: adults 400 yen / children 200 yen
Official Website (en)

Meigetsuin is almost less temple than garden, with more than 2,500 hydrangeas surrounding a maze of paths and staircases throughout the temple grounds. And the thousands of plants at Meigetsuin are known for one thing in particular: their color. Just about all of the hydrangeas in this temple garden are a brilliant blue, and they've been given the name hime-ajisai (ヒメアジサイ), literally "princess hydrangeas"!

Meigetsuin Temple (明月院)

189 Yamanouchi, Kamakura, Kanagawa
Hours: 8:30 - 17:00
Admission Fee: 500 yen

Jojuin has a history reaching back almost 800 years, but these days visitors tend to come for the flowers more than anything else. A long staircase reaches from the beaches of Kamakura up to the temple and up beyond, all lined with colorful hydrangeas. There's no better place to snap a picture of the flowers in front of Kamakura's white sand!

Jojuin Temple (成就院)
1-1-5 Gokurakuji, Kamakura, Kanagawa
Hours: 8:00 - 17:00
Official Website (jp)

Enoshima Shrine is popular throughout the year, thanks to its reputation for granting good luck, which stretches back to the days of samurai. To this day, visitors arrive to pray for health and (particularly) wealth, but in the summer they also come for the flowers! Admire the view of colorful hydrangeas as you climb all the way up the shrine's many stairs.

Enoshima Shrine (江島神社)
2-3-8 Enoshima, Fujisawa, Kanagawa
Hours: 8:30 - 17:00
Official Website (jp)