Japan 2016 – Day Five Kebabs in Kamakura – Part Two

**WOW this took a long time to write. I blame it solely on Pokemon Go, which has sort of taken over my life for the past two weeks… Now that I’ve gotten that out of me, its time to get back to Kamakura 🙂

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So I ended the last post at a stop off at Iobata Coffee, a small coffee shop run out of a caravan in Hase. We took the train out to Kamakura station, our next point of call.

Kamakura is a much bigger town than Enoshima. Not only do alot of tourists flock over here, but it feels much more developed and modern than nearby Enoshima.

Kamakura Komachi Dori

One of the main attractions here is the shopping street, or Komachi Dori. Like most other shopping streets in Japan, its a mix of retail stores,  clothing boutiques, restaurants, food stalls, and your usual tourist shops.

One of the specialties here are their fresh rice crackers. They have a man cooking these fresh at the front of each store that you can buy as its ready made. Otherwise, you can always go for the pre-packaged variety, also fresh from the day. Definitely make an effort to try them, even if you cannot figure out what flavor they are (they’re all good!). I’d say get them fresh and enjoy on the spot. We picked up a few to take back to our apartment, but unfortunately they tasted stale and soggy by the time we got back. Most likely due to the lack of preservatives, and because they bag it while its still warm, the moisture ruins the texture in the crackers.

We also stumbled across a small shop selling glutinous rice cakes on a stick. Note to self, eat as many rice stick looking things in Japan, because they don’t sell them back home unfortunately! This one shown below was an almond flavored rice cake.

Yuigihama Beach

After lunch and a heap of snacks, we decided to go to Yuigihama beach. Now, i know we are spoilt for choice for beaches in Australia, but we thought it would be nice to get our feet wet, sit on the sand, and just enjoy a bit of quiet time while in Kamakura. It’s probably well documented that beaches in Japan aren’t that nice (except for Okinawa), and probably explains why Bondi beach is so popular with Japanese tourists.

It ain’t pretty, the sand feels like dirt, and there’s enough of a mix of shells, sticks, branches, and miscellaneous on the sand to make your walk there uncomfortable. No wonder people walked on the beach with shoes on!

Nonetheless, it was an interesting experience. There was a large group of school kids in a large circle chanting stuff while stomping on the ground. We didn’t know what was happening, but it was interesting to observe anyway.

Because we were here in early June, it wasn’t exactly the peak season for foreign and local tourists. I believe in late July is when all of the beach parties and food stands start appearing, but I could be wrong.

The water is very shallow, so you can actually walk quite far out before it even starts to hit your torso. So its a nice beach if you just want to get your feet a bit wet. Its also a 15-20 minute walk from Kamakura station (or a few minutes if you go to Yuigihama station first), so its not a bad option after a day of eating.

Dinner

Feeling beat, we decided dinner tonight was going to consist of take out. Just outside of Kamakura station was a food hall, similar to those you would see in the basement floor of department stores. We picked up a sesame oil noodle box, and a mixed bento box to take back to our apartment to eat. Delicious of course, and makes me wish we had these types of take out options back home.

Summary of places visited

Komachi Dori Street
Komachi, Kamakura 248-0006, Kanagawa Prefecture

Soba House, Komachi Dori Street
Komachi, Kamakura 248-0006, Kanagawa Prefecture

Yuigihama Beach
4 Yuigahama, Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture 248-0014, Japan