(November 14)
Kamakura is a relatively small town today but from 1192–1333 it was the seat of the Kamakura Shogunate and thus the effective capital of Japan. It has several impressive sites left over from that period.
The Hasedera Temple is most famous for a 9 meter tall statue of Kannon and a 3 meter statue of Amida Buddha. Neither can be photographed but there are a lot of other cool things to take pictures of on the temple grounds.
The entrance of a cave sacred to Benten.
Inside the cave there are some impressive wall carvings and lots of tiny Benten images.
Just up the road from Hasedera is the Great Buddha of Kamakura, a 13.35 meter image of Amida Buddha. It is the second tallest bronze Buddha in Japan.
Originally like the larger Great Buddha of Nara it was inside a wooden building but after that structure was repeatedly destroyed by typhoons and a tsunami they decided to leave it in the open air.
For 200 yen you can go inside it and see how it was put together.
The Hachimangu Shrine was built in 1180 by Yoritomo Minamoto, the first Kamakura Shogun. It is dedicated to the war god Hachiman, who was worshiped by the samurai. Several other warlike characters including the legendary warrior empress Jingu are also enshrined there.
In the main building there is an exhibition of art treasures from the Kamakura period (which of course cannot be photographed.)