"Ajisai" (hydrangea) season has come!!　

Kamakura is famous for these lovely flowers, but there are so many visitors, particularly this season, that it's hard to enjoy "Ajisai" in a relaxed mood.

Since I live in a town neighboring Kamakura, I made an early-morning visit to three "Ajisai temples". These temples are popular among tourists and are known for their beautiful Ajisai flowers that blossom in June.

Driving is not such a good idea on the weekend because of the heavy traffic. Taking the "Enoden" (a local train running between Kamakura and Fujisawa) is an easy and convenient way to get there.

The first Ajisai temple I visited was Jojuin Temple. It is an 8-minute walk from Hase Station or a 5-minute walk from Gokurakuji Station.

You can see very colorful Ajisai on both sides of the path. On a fine day, you can see Yuigahama beach from the top of a path, too. When I arrived at 7:30 in the morning there were very few people, so I was able to take as many pictures of the flowers as I liked.

The second place I visited was Hasedera Temple.

Just after the temple gates opened at 8 a.m., I was able to enter and see the Ajisai pathways without waiting. However, during the daytime on weekends, I hear that there is usually a long queue to get in, just like at an amusement park. Actually, when I walked past again at 5 p.m. just out of curiosity, there was a waiting time of more than 20 minutes to enter the pathway.

I also visited Meigetsuin Temple, which is a 10-minute walk from JR Kitakamakura Station.

The Ajisai at Meigetsuin seem to have only just started to bloom, so it is too early to see them now. Maybe next week you will able to enjoy more beautiful flowers.

If I have enough energy to get up early and go back there again next weekend, I will report on how they are then!