Kamakura's Hase Temple in January

Autumn is still hanging on, but spring is on the way

Larry Knipfing Feb 09, 2015 - 1 min read

<p>Some statues outside the entrance soaking in the sun</p>

<p>A group of statues with a hint of red</p>

<p>A statue sitting in the temple's small pond, with dusk coming soon</p>

<p>The lovely momiji maple trees made me think that autumn was still with us</p>

<p>Black lanterns, bamboo, and momiji</p>

<p>And this lone, simple ume (plum) blossom told me that spring is right around the corner!</p>

<p>One of the many beautiful Buddhist statues here</p>

<p>A great view of the sea from Hase Temple on a windy day</p>

<p>A nice collection of very old statues</p>

<p>Happy-go-lucky Ebisu, the God of Fortune</p>

<p>The temple also has a very nice garden just inside the entrance, to the right</p>

Notice

Kumamoto Castle sustained heavy damage during the 2016 earthquake. During the summer of 2021, the inner keep reopened after a 5-year reconstruction period. However, sitewide renovations are expected to continue until around 2038.

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Hase Temple is just down the street from Daibutsu (The Great Buddha) so be sure to visit both of them. It's also just a five minute walk from the beach, so you might want to fit that into your Kamakura itinerary, as well.

I visited on a warmish day in mid-January and I felt like we were skipping winter and going straight to spring from autumn. There were still beautiful momiji maple in the temple grounds, but I also spotted the first ume (plum) blossom of the year, a sure sign that spring is right around the corner!

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Larry Knipfing @larry.knipfing

Born on Long Island, New York in 1958, I have spent the last 30 years of my life living in Japan, and enjoying every minute of it! I especially love photography, and Japan is definitely one of the most beautiful places in the world to photograph! My other love is fiction writing and I have pub...