Kamakura Festival

The Kamakura Festival is the old shogunal capital's spring celebration, held at Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine and along Wakamiya-oji, the ceremonial avenue that runs from the shrine down to the sea. It lasts a week, from the second Sunday of April to the third, and most of what happens in between is quiet shrine ritual. The two Sundays are the days that matter.

The opening Sunday brings a parade up Wakamiya-oji and, on the shrine's outdoor stage, the Shizuka no Mai, a dance recalling Shizuka Gozen, the lover of the tragic warrior Yoshitsune, who was made to perform here for his brother, the first shogun. The closing Sunday afternoon is given over to yabusame, in which archers in medieval hunting dress gallop down a straight track in the shrine grounds and loose arrows at three wooden targets. It is over in a few passes and the viewing space along the track is narrow, so arriving two hours or more ahead is the price of a clear view.

Kamakura is an easy ride from Tokyo on the JR Yokosuka Line, and the shrine is a ten-minute walk up Komachi-dori from the station. Weekend crowds in Kamakura are heavy at any time in spring, and the festival adds to them; come early, see the archery, and leave the temples of the hills for a weekday. The festival has no floats, fireworks or night events, so plan it as a single afternoon rather than a stay.