In the previous episode, I introduced a chocolate coffee shop in Kuramae and a specialty crab restaurant. If you haven't watched it yet, you can check out the previous video. In this episode, I will be heading to Kanagawa Prefecture near Tokyo. Kanagawa Prefecture is located next to Tokyo and includes familiar cities like Yokohama, Hakone, and Kamakura. Many people visit Kanagawa while traveling to Tokyo. This time, I will take you on a one-day trip to Kamakura. If you don't want to miss it, make sure to watch until the end of the video. Supportive friends, please help by liking and subscribing to my channel. I also encourage everyone to leave comments. Today, I started my journey from Yokohama. I took the JR Shonan-Shinjuku Line to reach Kamakura. However, if you are in Tokyo, for example, from Ikebukuro, Shinjuku, or Shibuya, starting from these central areas of Tokyo, you can actually take the Shonan-Shinjuku Line to Kamakura just like me, but get on a few stations earlier. On the right side of Kamakura Station, there are lockers If, like me, you plan to visit several places in Kanagawa and you have luggage with you, you can store your luggage in the lockers first. Then, walk back to the left side of the station. You will see the entrance of a large torii gate. Passing through the gate will lead you to Komachi-dori, a must-visit street in Kamakura. This shopping street has nearly 250 shops. Today, we will introduce a few must-try food shops to everyone. We are currently in Komachi-dori in Kamakura. This is a shopping street with many food shops and stores. First, we will go to a wagyu sushi restaurant. We're heading to this wagyu sushi restaurant called Kamakura Gyuubee. It's located very close to the entrance of Komachi-dori. They specialize in selling Hayama beef. There are many varieties of wagyu in Japan, and the black-haired wagyu from Kanagawa Prefecture is called Hayama beef. They mainly sell a few types of meat sushi, including beef tenderloin and beef hind leg. If you want to try all the styles at once, you can order the "Goku" set like I did. It includes three types of wagyu sushi. There are no seats inside the shop, and you can't eat while walking in the Kamakura shopping street either. So, after receiving your order, you need to go to the standing eating area to finish your meal. Although the wagyu on the sushi is just a thin slice, it has a rich and savory beef flavor. The beef hind leg has a more chewy texture, while the beef tenderloin has a higher fat content. What's particularly special is the wagyu sushi topped with shirauo (whitebait) on the surface. Shirauo is a specialty of Kamakura. With the addition of salmon roe, it has a slightly seafood taste and is delicious. Now we're heading to an award-winning curry bread shop. This place is called Giraffe Curry Bread, and it's a must-try for almost everyone visiting Komachi-dori. It opened in December 2020 and has won the Curry Bread Gold Award for three consecutive years. During peak times, they sell up to 1,500 curry breads per day. Just standing in front of the shop, you can already smell the rich aroma of curry. The curry bread is freshly fried after you place your order, so you'll receive it while it's still piping hot. As soon as I picked up the curry bread, I could feel its warmth. The outer crust is crispy and fragrant, but not overly greasy. When you take a bite, you'll find an ample amount of cheese and curry filling inside. The curry bread contains a mixture of beef and pork mince, combined with a rich curry sauce made from 30 different spices. There's also a generous amount of mozzarella cheese. The combination of the meat juices, curry, and cheese creates a truly enticing and aromatic flavor. It's absolutely delicious. In addition to small eateries, there are also many shops along Komachi-dori that sell gifts and souvenirs. One of the shops with a traditional Japanese charm is Kamakura Hachiza. Kamakura Hachiza specializes in selling souvenirs unique to Kamakura. They feature a wide range of products from the Kamakura area, including items from Shonan and Kanagawa Prefecture. In fact, during the Kamakura period, Kamakura was the core region of political power, and there were seven important industrial and commercial areas that included timber, textiles, and rice cultivation, collectively known as the "Kamakura Shichiza" or "Seven Seats of Kamakura." The shop "Kamakura Hachiza" aims to be the eighth seat by showcasing handcrafted products. They sell a wide variety of locally made specialty crafts, all proudly made in Japan. Sponsored by Surfshark VPN! When traveling abroad, you'll often need to connect to public Wi-Fi. But how can you be sure if the Wi-Fi network you're connecting to is secure? 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And they offer a 30-day money-back guarantee. Sign up now for a trial! Actually, the Daruma doll I won that day was the turtle design I wanted. I had previously won other Daruma dolls from the same series. I was afraid of getting duplicates. Luckily, I didn't get a duplicate. Continuing along Komachi-dori, I arrived at the third recommended shop, Yumemiya, a rice ball shop. They specialize in selling various flavors of Japanese rice ball skewers. There were also many people buying when I arrived. The price of the rice ball skewers was around 200-300 yen per skewer. In addition to several traditional soy sauce flavors, there were also many sweet options. Especially, they had seasonal limited edition flavors. I ordered a hydrangea rice ball skewer. The name "hydrangea" only describes the colors of two types of sweet bean paste, and has no relation to the actual flower. The rice ball was moist and had a nice chewiness. The purple color was purple sweet potato paste, and the green color was matcha green tea paste. I could enjoy two flavors at once, and the presentation was beautiful. It perfectly complemented the sunny atmosphere of Kamakura. Toshimaya is a century-old traditional Japanese confectionery shop in Kamakura. Their flagship product is pigeon-shaped cookies. They opened this Seto Koji branch on Komachi-dori. In addition to selling cookies, they also offer made-to-order fruit jam pancakes. These pancakes are only available at this branch, and not at their main shop. Outside Toshimaya, you can see that the staff starts making pancakes only after receiving an order. The pancakes come in various flavors and fillings. The most signature one is the fruit jam filling, but I prefer the milk-flavored filling. So, I ordered a custard-flavored one. Toshimaya's signature pigeon cookies are baked using a mixture of flour, eggs, butter, and sugar, resulting in a pastry-like texture. They have a subtle milky and buttery flavor. So, when they are turned into pancakes, I expected them to have a rich milky taste. There is a dining area on the second floor. You can walk up the small staircase next to the shop to enjoy your meal here. The pancakes are generously filled with toppings. You can see the abundant custard inside. Compared to other pancake shops, the pancake base is already quite thick. However, with so much filling, it's not enough pancake to go with it. Although the next stop is also a pancake place, and it's somewhat similar to what I just had, this one is in the shape of the Great Buddha of Kamakura. When you come to Kamakura, you can't miss it. This Kamakura Daibutsu pancake is unique because they call their pancakes "Kaiun Imagawayaki." There are six flavors, each representing a different fortune. Of course, you can also choose the flavor you want. But when it comes to improving your luck, they give you another reason to make a purchase. I chose a cheese blueberry flavor different from before. It represents love luck. It costs 250 yen each. This Imagawayaki in the shape of the Great Buddha is perfect for taking photos and checking in. And the taste is also good. But eating two pancakes in a row is really filling. After eating a lot of snacks, it's time to find some drinks to quench my thirst. There are many shops along the way selling matcha desserts and drinks, but I wanted something more refreshing. That's when I found Kamakura Ichigo-za. This place specializes in making different drinks using strawberries. Their signature is a famous strawberry smoothie made from 16 blended strawberries in a single cup. In addition to that, they also have strawberry beer, shochu (Japanese distilled spirit), and sparkling water. The strawberry smoothie comes in two varieties, one with milk and the other with red tea. I wanted something to quench my thirst, so I chose the red tea. All the smoothies are made to order, and I watched as the staff poured a box of prepared strawberry pulp into it. The smoothie looked vibrant and appealing. It tasted rich and delicious with a strong strawberry flavor. And since I chose the red tea base, it had a hint of tea aroma. It felt more hydrating than the one with just milk. Drinking it felt like enjoying a refreshing smoothie to quench my thirst. After enjoying the snacks on Komachi-dori, I'm going to head to Shichirigahama while the sun is still out. First, I need to pick up my luggage at the station, and then take the Enoden train to Shichirigahama Station. When it comes to the Enoden train, everyone probably thinks of Kamakura High School, the iconic scene from the opening of "Slam Dunk." However, there are many beautiful places around Kamakura where you can see the sea. Unless you're specifically aiming to capture the exact same scene as in "Slam Dunk," you might consider going to other locations because Kamakura High School is crowded now, and it's challenging to recreate that animated scene. The station I arrived at this time is called Shichirigahama, which is the seventh station on the Enoden line. Shichirigahama is a famous scenic spot in Kamakura. Its beach is selected as one of the "100 Best Beaches in Japan." On clear days, you can enjoy views of Enoshima Island and Mt. Fuji. Many people specifically choose to come here when the sun is setting because the coastline offers beautiful sunsets. As soon as you step out of Shichirigahama Station, you can already see the beach in the distance. If you enjoy watching trains, there is a spot next to the station where you can see the railway up close. Starting from the station, it takes less than a minute to walk to the beach. As I walked to the vicinity of the beach, I noticed that there were already quite a few people waiting here for the sunset. From this spot, the view of the endless sea is incredibly beautiful. I recommend coming here on a clear day during the summer to experience it. From this location, you can enjoy a distant view of Enoshima Island. At Shichirigahama Beach, there are many restaurants and cafes where you can enjoy the view of the sea. The famous pancake restaurant, Bills, is also located here. However, this time I chose a cafe that offers a view of the sea from a higher vantage point. The ground floor is a cake shop, while the cafe is located on the third floor. Sitting at an outdoor table allows for a direct view of the coastline and even the sunset. When I arrived in Kamakura, the weather was slightly cool with a gentle breeze. Sitting at an outdoor table was very comfortable. However, I had already eaten a lot in Komachi-dori earlier, so I just ordered two beverages and waited for the sunset. Today, we visited the lively shopping streets of Kamakura and the peaceful seaside. No matter which type of itinerary you prefer, Kamakura has a place that suits you. Plus, it's conveniently close to Tokyo, and you can easily reach it by train. It's suitable for everyone to spend a day in Kamakura, relaxing and enjoying the atmosphere. In fact, there is also Hakone near Kamakura. If you want to see my itinerary to Hakone, please leave a comment below the video. If many people are interested, I will film it for you next time. This concludes our one-day trip to Kamakura in this episode. Due to programming changes, the next episode will continue with our itinerary in Yokohama. Those who want to see Yokohama, please stay tuned. If you enjoyed my sharing, please remember to like and leave comments to let me know. Also, share it with your friends, subscribe to my channel, and don't forget to follow my Instagram. See you in the next episode!
