A Complete Travel Guide to Enjoying Kanagawa, Home to Many Popular Tourist Destinations

The Yokohama-Minatomirai Pass gives you unlimited rides on the JR Negishi Line from Yokohama Station to Shin-Sugita Station and on the Yokohama Minatomirai Railway, known as the Minatomirai Line.
You can ride not only local trains but also rapid trains.
It is the perfect free pass for touring famous sightseeing spots in the Yokohama area, including Yokohama Chinatown and Yamashita Park, as well as the Minatomirai district.
Tickets can be purchased from reserved-seat ticket machines and some automatic ticket machines. Digital tickets are also available and can be purchased by smartphone.
This great-value ticket costs 530 yen for adults and 260 yen for children.

If you are traveling to Kamakura or Enoshima, be sure to check out the Enoshima-Kamakura Freepass.
The Odakyu Line is the most convenient way to access Enoshima from central Tokyo.
With this pass, you can get on and off freely all day from Katase-Enoshima Station to Fujisawa Station on the Odakyu Line.
You also get unlimited rides on the Enoden Line, which is essential for continuing from Enoshima to Kamakura.
It is an ideal free pass for strolling around Kamakura and Enoshima and visiting temples and famous sites.
It also comes with discounts on admission to popular sightseeing spots and at cafes.
You can purchase it by selecting your departure station, so the price varies depending on where you start, but it ranges from 810 yen to 1,930 yen for adults and 410 yen to 430 yen for children.
The Enoshima-Kamakura Freepass can be purchased from ticket machines and ticket counters at Odakyu Line stations, as well as Odakyu Travel Centers.

The Yokohama-Kawasaki area is located in eastern Kanagawa Prefecture.
Made up of Yokohama, the largest city in Kanagawa Prefecture, and Kawasaki, an industrial city, it is the most urban area in Kanagawa.
Yokohama, which has long flourished as a port town, offers a retro-modern 19th-century atmosphere and an international cityscape.
It is not only urban, though. You can also enjoy nature at places such as Yamashita Park, with its seaside scenery, and Ikuta Ryokuchi, where you can relax in spacious greenery.
Popular attractions include Yokohama Chinatown and Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse in Yokohama, and the power spot Kawasaki Daishi and the large commercial complex Lazona Kawasaki in Kawasaki.
A trip to the Yokohama-Kawasaki area lets you enjoy contrasting charms all at once, such as nostalgia and newness, nature and the city.

The Miura Peninsula lies at the southeastern tip of Kanagawa Prefecture, between Tokyo Bay and Sagami Bay.
This area lets you fully enjoy beautiful coastal scenery and a unique atmosphere.
Jogashima, the southernmost point of the Miura Peninsula, received two stars in the Michelin Green Guide Japon, a testament to its beautiful ocean views.
You can gaze out over the vast Pacific Ocean from the cave known as Umanose Domon, and observe rare coastal plants and wild birds.
At Misaki Port, one of Japan’s leading tuna fishing ports, you can enjoy fresh seafood such as tuna and Sajima octopus.
Hayama, a resort town with an Imperial villa, has an elegant and refined atmosphere, while Yokosuka, which developed as a naval port from 1907, has a unique character born from the fusion of Japanese and Western cultures.

The Sagamiko and Sagami River Basin area is located in northern Kanagawa Prefecture, in the mountains bordering Tokyo and Yamanashi Prefecture.
Sagami Lake, an artificial dam lake created by damming the Sagami River, offers green and waterside scenery and fresh air, along with plenty of activities such as sightseeing boats and boating.
Other spots where you can experience nature on a grand scale include Sagamiko MORI MORI, a multi-purpose outdoor complex with an amusement park, hot springs, and campsites, Zama Sunflower Field, where Approx. 550,000 sunflowers bloom in summer, and Izumi no Mori, which features a marsh plant garden, watermill hut, folk house park, and campsites.
With many facilities where children can play to their heart’s content, this is an area families should definitely check out.

The Tanzawa-Oyama area is located almost in the center of Kanagawa Prefecture.
Centered on Mount Oyama, long revered as an object of worship, and the Tanzawa mountains, where nine peaks of around 1,500m line up, this area offers dynamic and mystical mountain scenery.
In addition to hiking, there are farms where you can enjoy fruit picking and hot springs known for their skin-beautifying effects, letting you fully enjoy nature’s blessings.
Mount Oyama, also famous as a power spot, has a pilgrimage tradition known as Oyama Mairi that dates back more than 400 years.
At the shukubo temple lodgings where worshippers stay, you can experience meditation and purification rituals.
If you are worried about the physical demands of climbing, the Oyama Cable Car is convenient, taking you to Afuri Shrine Station near the summit in Approx. 6 minutes.
In Tanzawa, you can enjoy authentic trekking despite its proximity to urban areas.

The Shonan area stretches along the Pacific coast of Kanagawa Prefecture.
It is home to destinations with rich histories, such as Enoshima, famous as a sightseeing and scenic spot for hundreds of years, and Kamakura, which was the political center around the late 12th century, making it an unmissable area when traveling in Kanagawa.
Enoshima is a small island with a circumference of about 4km that you can reach on foot by crossing a bridge.
It is home to Enoshima Shrine, giving the whole island the feel of a power spot.
The approach to the shrine is lined with Nakamise Street, where souvenir shops and restaurants stand side by side, so shopping is also part of the fun.
Nearby is Enoshima Aquarium, making the area enjoyable for families with children as well.
From Enoshima, take the Enoden, which combines retro charm with convenience, and tour Kamakura’s shrines and temples to fully experience the romance of this ancient capital.
While the area offers a distinctly Japanese atmosphere, the approach to Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine is also lined with souvenir shops, stylish goods stores, trendy sweets shops, and cafes.

The Ashigara area lies in the mountainous, nature-rich western part of Kanagawa Prefecture.
It is a peaceful yet somehow mystical area, home to Ashigara Mountain, the setting of the famous Japanese folktale Kintaro, and Daiyuzan Saijoji Temple, known for its tengu legends.
Along with seasonal scenery such as cherry blossoms in spring and autumn leaves in fall, you can enjoy hot springs in a quiet setting, as well as camping and hiking, for a full-body experience of nature.
Daiyuzan Saijoji Temple, famous for its tengu legends, is considered a power spot, with tengu figures and geta sandals, symbols of strong legs, dedicated throughout the grounds, along with the impressive presence of a cedar avenue with trees over 500 years old.
There are also many spots where you can enjoy experiences not possible in the city, such as Nakai Inter Circuit, where you can try thrilling circuit experiences with racing karts, pocket bikes, and motorcycles, and Matsuda Herb Garden, a herb garden in a superb location overlooking Sagami Bay, Mt. Fuji, and the Hakone mountain range.

The Hakone-Odawara area lies at the western edge of Kanagawa Prefecture.
Centered on Odawara, which once flourished as a castle town around Odawara Castle, and Hakone, a historic transportation hub between eastern and western Japan, this sightseeing area is known for its history, hot springs, and scenery.
Hakone and Yugawara prospered for many years as post towns, so they are home to many long-established hot spring inns.
Walking through the hot spring towns and browsing restaurants and souvenir shops adds to the feeling of travel.
Hakone is filled with photogenic spots, including the imposing Mt. Fuji, the clear blue waters of Lake Ashi, and Hakone Shrine, famous as a power spot.
Odawara is home to Odawara Castle Park, where the famous castle Odawara Castle, originally built in the 15th century, has been recreated.
From the top floor of the castle tower, you can enjoy a panoramic view of Sagami Bay, and you can also dress up in samurai or ninja costumes.
In Manazuru, where beautiful fishing village scenery remains, you can take a sightseeing boat and view Cape Manazuru, surrounded by primeval forest.

On the first day, you will visit especially famous attractions in Minato Mirai, within the Yokohama-Kawasaki area.
This plan lets you enjoy a beautifully designed urban landscape and ocean views, shop at a large commercial complex filled with the latest trends, sample pork buns and shumai in the exotic atmosphere of Yokohama Chinatown, and finish with a walk through Yamashita Park.

Day 2 starts with visits to shrines and temples in Kamakura, then continues to Enoshima by riding the Enoden.
You can fully enjoy historical romance, seasonal scenic beauty, and beautiful ocean views.
There are also spots for food and shopping, so look forward to that as well.

Sanma-men is a local ramen dish from Kanagawa Prefecture.
The name combines the Cantonese word “san,” meaning bean sprouts, and “ma,” meaning to place on top.
True to its name, it is a noodle dish topped with a thick stir-fried mixture of bean sprouts, garlic chives, napa cabbage, carrots, onions, wood ear mushrooms, meat, and other ingredients over ramen soup.
Because it is thickened, the soup stays hot easily, which is one of its appeals, making it perfect for cold seasons.
The seasoning and ingredients vary by shop, but the soup is often soy sauce-based.
Part of the fun of traveling is enjoying it at retro Chinese restaurants with lots of atmosphere, such as famous shops in Yokohama Chinatown or the long-established Gyokusentei in Isezakichojamachi.

Yokosuka Navy Curry is a retro-style curry rice dish recreating a menu once served in the Japanese Navy.
It is made based on a cooking method from a military recipe book published in 1908, and as a rule, it is served with milk and salad.
Outside certified shops in Yokosuka City, it cannot be called “Yokosuka Navy Curry.”
The thick roux, filled with plenty of meat and vegetables, is not so much sharply spicy as it is well-balanced, with all the flavors harmonizing pleasantly.

Shirasu are juvenile sardines. A bowl of rice topped generously with fresh raw shirasu is called a raw shirasu rice bowl, and it is known as a specialty dish of the Shonan area.
Because raw shirasu loses freshness quickly and can only be eaten on the day it is landed, it is a local specialty limited to coastal areas.
The white, translucent shirasu sparkle like jewels, and their smooth texture and springy bite are irresistibly delicious.
Spring is said to be the peak season, but the slightly larger autumn shirasu is every bit as tasty as spring shirasu.
Keep in mind that it cannot be eaten from January to mid-March because fishing is prohibited.