Published on Oct, 2022
This was the perfect day trip from Tokyo! Kamakura is a beautiful city and seeing it by bike is the ideal way to both feel immersed in the culture, but also cover a large amount of ground.
My tour guide, Yuki, was wonderful! From meeting me at the train station to biking around Kamakura to even providing recommendations on what to do when I returned to Tokyo, Yuki went the extra mile to make me feel welcome, explain the history of Kamakura, and help me understand the cultural nuances of life in Japan.
The shrines and temples were beautiful as well as the forests around Kamakura. Biking around the narrow streets past homes and schools, really helped me to feel like I was seeing a glimpse of the normal everyday life of the people in Kamakura.
We stopped at this delicious neighborhood café and had noodles. Yuki explained to me the difference between the noodles that we ate and the typical soba noodles that I had eaten previously in Tokyo (made with wheat vs buckwheat). This is just a small example of the cultural nuances that Yuki helped to explain that I would’ve totally missed that had I not had a tour guide.
I felt safe the entire time we were on a bike and Yuki did a good job of making sure I was always near her. I’m used to urban cycling but it is worth noting that while drivers are very respectful, you will be biking on the road without a bike lane.
After the tour, I took a 30 minute train ride down to Enoshima and spent the rest the the afternoon at the ocean and watched the sunset over Mount Fuji from the Sea Candle.
I was traveling solo and Yuki was kind enough to take my picture throughout the day – way better than my selfies!
I couldn’t think of a better way to spend the day! Thank you!
