KANAGAWA 4D3N ITINERARY: WHAT TO DO IN KANAGAWA?

Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Hokkaido...these are the names that sprung up on our minds when we think of travelling in Japan. But there are actually a lot more beautiful prefectures to visit in Japan!

Just last week, I was invited to visit Kanagawa prefecture for a 4D3N trip. I was honestly so looking forward to the trip as I have never been to Kanagawa before and it always excites me to travel to somewhere new!

In this post, I will try my best to introduce Kanagawa to you: places to go, where to eat, etc. Hopefully, this post will inspire you to visit KANAGAWA in your next Japan trip!

xxx

ABOUT KANAGAWA

Located 40 mins to 1 hour away from Tokyo, Kanagawa Prefecture is a prefecture located in Kantō region of Japan. Known for its beach views, shrines, parks and other cultural sites, Kanagawa is absolutely a great option for those who would like to travel out of Tokyo (but not too far away) for a one-day trip or 2D1N trip!

xxx

ITINERARY

DAY 1 

- Arriving in Yokohama from Haneda airport at night

DAY 2 - YOKOHAMA

- Yokohama Chinatown

- Yamashita Park

- Cup Noodle Museum

- Lunch at Shinyokohama Ramen Museum

- Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse
- Depart to Kamakura 
- Kamakura Komachi Street

DAY 3

- Kamakura: Great Buddha 

- Fujisawa: Enoshima Island, Iwaya Caves, Samuel Cocking Garden

- Chigasaki: Lunch at Amagoya (seafood BBQ)

DAY 4

- Miura: Misaki Fish Market, Sea Tour Ship, lunch at Misaki-kan

- Kawasaki: Japan Open-air Folk House Museum, LAZONA Kawasaki Plaza

- Depart to Haneda airport

xxx

YOKOHAMA CHINATOWN
We were unlucky because it had been raining since morning while we were in Yokohama. 😭Otherwise, I really want to spend more time strolling the streets in the Chinatown as there are plenty of shops and Chinese restaurants serving an array of Chinese cuisines here. Also, Yokohama Chinatown is actually the largest Chinatown in Japan!!

xxx

YAMASHITA PARK

5 mins by foot from Chinatown, we've arrived in Yamashita Park. It's also the first seaside park in Japan located right in front of Yokohama Port. 

The blooming season of hydrangeas 😍

The park is nicely-decorated and blooming with different kinds of flowers. A very good spot for strolling and dating I would say!

xxx

CUP NOODLES MUSEUM

 Ever wonder the history of instant noodles and how they evolved? Come to this wacky Cup Noodles Museum in Yokohama! The museum showcases a mind-boggling number of instant noodles variations that have been invented over the years and the way they arranged the cup noodles on the wall so neatly is just so aesthetically-pleasing!

*Entrance fee: 500yen for adult

Also, we get to customise our own cup noodle too - you get to paint your own cup and pick your flavour and topping!

xxx

Lunch at 

Shinyokohama Ramen Museum

We were brought to the Shinyokohama Ramen Museum for lunch. As the name suggests, it's all about RAMEN here! There are plenty of ramen shops here for you to choose from. We chose this shop that sells really good ramen with tonkotsu broth and pork belly slices. Mmmmm it tastes really fragrant and delicious!

xxx

Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse

The Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse is a historical building has now turned into a shopping complex! Now, it has more than 40 shops - from cafes to restaurants, food courts, jewelry shops, souvenir shops and more!

xxx

Kamakura Komachi Street

From Yokohama, we departed to Kamakura, which is another city in the Kanagawa prefecture. I love this street so much because it's where all the souvenir shops, dessert and snacks shops gather!! It also feels super nostalgic scrolling down this historical street and stopping by traditional shops for a quick shopping spree. LOVE LOVE LOVE!

These are chopstick holders guys!!! SO CUTE!

xxx

KAMAKURA GREAT BUDDHA

The next morning, we visited the Kamakura Great Buddha a.k.a Daibutsu. The bronze statue of the Amitābha Buddha stands 43.8ft tall and weighs approximately 121 tonnes, which makes it the second largest Buddha statue in Japan.

*Entrance fee: 200Yen 

 

xxx

FUJISAWA

After that, we departed to another city - Fujisawa. In Fujisawa, we explored the beautiful island called Enoshima (江の島). If you love exploring the nature: sea, cave, shrines and park, you will want to consider coming to Enoshima!

First stop in Enoshima: Benzaiten Nakamise Dori (弁財天仲見世通り)

This street is also another shopping street that sells plenty of souvenirs and snacks! 

At the end of this street, you will see the entrance to the Enoshima Shrine (江島神社), which was built in year 552! Enoshima shrine is home to Benzaiten, who is the Japanese Goddess of Love. But hey, it's not entirely about love and relationship, Benzaiten is also the Japanese goddess of everything that flows including water, music, words and eloquence. I was told that many musicians came all the way here to pray to Benzaiten for fortune in their career!

Purifying yourself is a must before going into a shrine! 

Here's where people pray for love and relationship 

Moving on, we arrived in the Samuel Cocking Garden, a small botanical garden and it's also where the Enoshima Sea Candle tower is located.

*Entrance fee: 200Yen

This is the Enoshima Sea Candle, an observatory + lighthouse. Here, you can get a panoramic view of the island itself! If you're lucky, you will get to see Mount Fuji as well!

Then, within a walking distance, we arrived in the Iwaya Cave. (*Entrance fee: 500Yen)

Locating right beside the sea, this cave was formed by coastal erosion since eons ago. The inside of the cave is actually pretty cooling and it feel a bit mystical due to the reverberations of the sounds of the waves. The cave is actually divided into 2 sections, but one of them is under maintenance during our visit, so we only managed to visit the other one. 

This is how the cave looks like! It's just a very short walk though, and inside the cave, there's this automated dragon statue dedicated to the dragon deity that has long been believed to be the guardian deity for fishermen.

And we're done with Enoshima! 

xxx

MIURA

The next day, we started our day visiting a new city - Miura.

Miura is a small and quiet city (in a good way) in Kanagawa, not much tourists here, but it's just so relaxing walking on the streets and discovering what the city has to offer. Also, TUNA is considered a popular local food here, so it's a good news for those who enjoy tuna!

In the morning, we got to visit the Tuna market, where tuna bidding auction takes place. However, visitors are only allowed to observe the bidding from the 2nd floor.

Then, we boarded the Sea Tour Ship (Nijiiro Sakana Go), the ship has 2 decks and the lower deck is half submerged so you can enjoy an underwater view of the beautiful sea of Misaki!
*

The tour takes about 40 mins only (two way), so sit back and relax!

Chilling time at Misaki Donuts - a very cute and cozy neighbourhood donut shop.

And ladies and gentlemen, lo and behold, the ultimate TUNA meal!! We had tuna tail tempura, tuna heart, tuna cheeks and of course the big fresh tuna belly! It was such a fantastic meal before we leave Miura, the town of tuna! *tears of joy*

xxx

KAWASAKI

Our second last stop was the Japan Open-air Folk House Museum in Kawasaki. This museum preserves and showcases Japanese traditional folk houses over two centuries old. Come here and discover a collection of authentic and traditional architecture and structures while enjoy the beautiful landscape scenery around the area!

*Entrance fee: 500Yen

Before we depart to the airport to catch our flight at night, we dropped by LAZONA Plaza, which is a shopping mall that adjoins to JR Kawasaki station. In this plaza, you will find a huge variety of stores, ranging from fashion stores to cafe and restaurants! 

xxx

That's basically my itinerary for this trip. I'm so happy that we get to visit so many cities in Kanagawa prefecture and each city definitely has its own charm. So if you're thinking to go out of Tokyo for a day trip or maybe a 2D1N trip, I do recommend visiting Kanagawa for a truly unique taste of JAPAN.

Hope you guys find this post helpful!!

xxx

By the way, you can also book a similar tour from APPLE VACATIONS. Or feel free to visit their booth in Matta Fair for more information!