Lodging hints for Kamakura area

I periodically check my virtualtourist.com account (which is sorely in need of updating) and found an email from AUGUST requesting hotel suggestions for a trip to Kamakura in April for their group of 3 adults & 2 children (1 baby). It's a good thing that our British pals, Paul & Karen, with their 4 yr old & 15 month old daughters visited Japan during their Easter holiday. As a result, I've become familiar with lodging options in this little enclave of Paradise (Kamakura area). The following is an excerpt of my reply back to the requestor. (Note: I don't mention love hotels in this reply because of the group mix. However, in a pinch, couples can stay there "all night" usually after 10 pm. Pals Barry & Nadia ended up doing that when they got stuck in Kamakura on a holiday weekend and we were still up in Tokyo.)

There are a few hotels in the area and a couple of houses w/rooms (backpacker friendly). What level of comfort are you looking for? If you want to be by the beach, there are only 3 hotels I know that are across the street from the beach: Kamakura Prince Hotel (about $200USD/night), Kamakura Park Hotel (same as Prince), and a smaller hotel further up the beach whose name escapes me at present,although I drive by it nearly every day to/from work. April is a very busy month here as it's cherry blossom season AND school's out so most hotels are booked and the trains are jam-packed, especiallythe EnoDen line which runs along the beach from central Kamakura to Fujisawa City. If you can get into the Enospa on Enoshima island, it's not a bad deal and not too far from the train station (about a mile?). The website for the hotel follows http://www.enospa.jp/ and for a quick review from travel and leisure mag, read http://www.travelandleisure.com/hotels/enospa-fujisawa-city-hotel.

If you want a more traditional stay at a ryokan, this website gives a good selection of area ryokan. Be fair warned though: most of these little places may/may not have English speakers taking reservations if you call so you'll have to be patient. If there's an email address, you'd be better off to use a travel agent. http://www.japaneseguesthouses.com/db/kamakura/index.htm.

My 2 cents: if you prefer Western style rooms and don't mind spending a bit more than other areas futher inland, I recommend the Prince Hotel or the Park Hotel. Sorry the Park hotel link is only in Japanese, but google-ing will give you English websites for reservations. Although it's not in the heart of downtown Kamakura, it's by the beach and is an easy 3km or 1.8 mile walk to what's considered "Kamakura" by some (where the main shrines and temples are located). The Prince hotel also provides some transportation to the nearest train station. When we have parties, some of our friends are coming from other cities like Kawasaki or Tokyo and this is where they have stayed.

The closest station is Shichirigahama station, which is 3 stations from Hase (HAH-say), where 2 popular tourist spots are located: the Great Buddha and Hasedera Kannon or Hase-Kannon. It's also only 3 stops in the other direction to Enoshima City & Enoshima Island, anotherf avorite tourist spot (the aquarium here is good for the little ones although the camelback hike to get across the island is NOT fun but worth the trouble!). Also, if you find it too difficult to find appropriate lodging in Kamakura, you have the whole of the Shonan bay area to seek as well as the Hakone area too,which is only about an hour by train from any of the stops on the EnoDen Line.

If you've visited virtualtourist.com, there are very few hotels/ryokans in Kamakura itself. (FYI: The one in Hayama is NOT, repeat, NOT close to Kamakura if traveling by car, bus or train. You'd have to switch from the train in Zushi to a bus to get anywhere in Hayama and if driving, you'd have to figure out where the parking lots are. However, it's a neat little area to visit. One of our best friends lived on the beach there and we always joked it would be faster for us to get to her place if we had a boat or jet skis). Also, check out JTB's website if you haven't already. They are one of the biggest tour companies in Japan and have a US website. (We have used them for event tickets like for sumo and pals used them for trips to Kyoto, etc)

Happy Traveling!