Our visit to Hokoku-ji Temple was a little bit of a consolation prize (and please know that when I say that, I am not demeaning this absolutely INCREDIBLE temple in ANY way); what I am saying is that, looking at our itinerary and realizing that a day trip to Kyoto (and by extension, the Arashiyama bamboo forest) was just not in the cards, but I still wanted to take my wife, sons, and myself, to see a magical bamboo forest.
Thankfully, Kamakura was already on our list of stops, and after learning that Hokoku-ji had a similarly impressive bamboo forest path, visiting here had become a foregone conclusion. Google Maps claims it's a 30-minute walk from Kamakura Station; in reality, it's closer to 20 minutes, but in the summer heat and humidity, it feels more like an hour. Even then, it was worth it.
There is an extremely modest entry fee to access the temple grounds (I believe it was around ¥500/person, so $3 USD or so), but once you are through the gates, you are almost immediately treated to one of the most gorgeous, verdant emerald cloisters you will ever encounter. Claustrophobic (in a good away), this narrow winding stretch of walkway winds about through the grounds of the temple, eventually terminating with a view of cliffside caves containing statues and shrines, ponds filled with koi, and cool, comforting, quiet, serene shade from the pervasive heat and humidity. It's a short path, but it'll stick with you.
Sure, it's a little out of the way, in a semi-remote part of the Kamakura (there is a bus that runs from the station to the temple, so utilize those Suica cards, and save yourself the walk!), but as I mentioned, it's a more than adequate substitute for the overly-trafficked Arashiyama, much closer to Tokyo, and located in a city that has more than enough reasons to visit all by itself. If that's all you're looking to experience, you're in for a treat. But if you're ready to immerse yourself in all that Hokoku-ji has to offer, you'll find so much more here than you might suspect, and you won't want to be anywhere else.
