2nd Torii — Attraction in Kamakura

This is one of those moments where Kamakura just nails the blend of everyday life & old-world ceremony. The second torii gate doesn’t just mark sacred ground...it literally splits a modern road in half, forcing cars & buses to yield to history. On one side, traffic. On the other, a stone walkway shaded by rows of trees, pulling you into a calm, ceremonial approach toward Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine.

The gate itself is classic vermilion, standing tall with two lion-dog guardians looking like they’ve been chewing on car exhaust for a century. Step through & suddenly the city noise fades; the symmetry of the path & the canopy of green create a natural reset button.

It’s not the most famous torii in Japan, but it’s one of the most effective: a literal threshold between “grabbing bubble tea in town” & “walking into 800 years of tradition.”

If you’re in Kamakura, don’t just rush past...this is where the shift from urban bustle to temple...

In the center of Wakamiya-oji avenue, there is the footpath that is several steps higher than the roadway. It called as Dankazura [段葛] way. This 465 meters long footpath begins to make a way higher in the center of the road during the Kamakura era, to prevent water and mud from flowing into the road on rainy days and making it difficult to walk. There used to be a similar path in other Japanese cities, but now it is a valuable historical structure road that remains only here in Japan. This Dankazura way is also made to narrow the road width from the Ni-no-torii gate near the station towards the direction of the shrine, and it looks longer than the actual distance by the effect of perspective. The road width is 4 meters in the Ni-no-Torii gate, but it narrows to 3 meters in front...

Worth walking down this pedestrian route at all times of the year especially during the cherry blossom season. Trees provide welcome shade in summer as you head to...