Places you can take a beautiful picture with your Smartphone.

Meigetsuin Temple was founded at 1160 in Kamakura.
It is popular as hydrangea temple because hydrangeas bloom in abundance on the temple grounds in June.

Kamakura is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture,once it was a political capital along with Nara and Kyoto.
It makes an easy day trip from Tokyo.

8 June – Best time to see in 2018

I arrived at entrance of Meigetsuin Temple at 7:00, 1.5 hour before the opening time.
To take beautiful picture at the best photo spot without putting the person in the photo, I had to go there very early and stood in the line.
I expected I could line at 4th or 5th, but there were already more than 10 people.

This hydrangea path is the best photo spot in this temple.
I managed to keep a nice position by running to here after the opening time.

I took this picture with 3.5 times zoom by iPhone7 Plus.
It was very difficult to reduce camera shake as people was very crowded.

A few minutes later, hydrangea path was filledwith people!

This gate in the end of the path is popular photo spot, too.

Taking photo without any person behind the gate was very difficult as many people went through.

Hydrangea and Jizo Statue.

A Circular window at Hojo(main hall).
People always make long line to take pictures of the garden through a round window.

The fresh green leaves were so beautiful!
In the autumn it turn into gorgeous red colors.
I took this picture with 3.5 times zoom by iPhone with attaching 2x telephoto lens of Switch 6 for iPhone 8 Plus / iPhone 7 Plus.
If you don’t wear any lens to your smartphone, you will need 8 – 10 times zoom.

Wherever I went, it was very crowded.
I felt tourist of here increased than last year.

17 June – Best time to see in 2017

When I arrived Meigetsuin at 7:30 a.m. (one hour prior to the opening time), people already made queues!
A security staff near there said that the most earliest person arrived at 7:00.

But when I came here yesterday on 8:30, the line was more longer!

This is an entrance of this temple.

A pathway leads you to the entrance gate.
There are three ticket counter on the right and left side.
(Usually only one counter opens.)

Usually only this gate is opened.
The other one is opened only when the tourist season.

Go straight from the gate, then you can go to this place where many tourists take pictures.

This place is very famous photo spot for this scenery.
If you want to take a picturesque photo, you have go to the head of the line between 8:30 ～ 8:35.
I  held my iPhone little lower than the eyes, then tapped the shutter button with 3 ～ 3.5 times zoom.

If you miss the best timing, people come into the path one after another.

Finally it was filled with people soon.

Then I moved to the other popular photo spot with haste.
Because it would be crowded soon.
This is the main hall (Hojo).
The view of garden through a round window is very famous.
People already made queues when I got there.
It became more longer as time passed.

It becomes more and more longer in the weekend.

I couldn’t take much time to shoot pictures because many people were waiting behind me.
So during the waiting time I considered many compositions.

I took picture by iPhone without zoom.

Double zoom.
Looks nice.But it wasn’t great.

So I moved to the left a little and got on one knee.
Then I tapped the shutter button with 3 ～ 3.5 times zoom.
This one is excellent!!
But people at inner garden was eyesore.
So I retouched inside the round window by the application of iPhone Enlight.
This app is owesome!
I can do whatever edit I want to .

After finished shooting photo, I went to the inner garden.
This is the entrance.
You can enter into it for a limited time in the season of hydrangea or autumn leaves.

Ticket counter.
It costs 500 yen for 1 adult.

Round window of the main hall could be seen from the opposite side.

Iris was fully bloomed.

Blue and red Jizo statue with iris.

Went out from inner garden and I looked around other places.
There were Jizo statue with hydrangea here and there.

This temple is famous for its beautiful blue hydrangea.
That’s because Jizo statue wears a blue cloth.

Besides the blue one, they had many kinds of hydrangea.

Bamboo forest and hydrangea was also beautiful!

When I went back to Kita Kamakura station, I found it was very crowded with people.
They made a long line to go out from platform because the exit gate was too narrow.
If you want to get off at Kita Kamakura station in the tourist season, you should get on the first car toward the direction that the train is heading.
Then you can go to the ticket gate faster than anyone and exit quickly.

Information

【Opening hour】
June → 8:30～17:00
January – May, July – December → 9:00～16:00

【Admission Fee】
300yen
(You can enter the garden for a limited time in the season of autumn leaves and iris. 500yen)

【Access】
・Train
10 minutes walk from Kita Kamakura station of JR Yokosuka line.

・Car
They don’t have a parking lot.
The nearest one around Meigetsuin temple is Shinko Park Kita Kamakura.
(5 minutes walk to Meigetsuin.)
But it becomes full soon because only 7 cars can park.