Tokyo - Kamakura

I still remember the expression my friend and colleague Deva had when I told him we are going to visit Kamakura! “Ok, are u sure you want to come with us?” and then a suspicious look “Is mama coming too?” Mama is another colleague of ours, middle aged, a typical tam braham straight out of mambalam, and some one we had grown to be fond of! He was our official cook over the weekend. He used to make some yummy south Indian vegetarian food in tokyo , MTR Puliyodare, Sambar, Rasam, Bisebela bath you name it and mama had stocked up his small kitchen cabinet with all the masalas from chennai!
So Deva, mama, venky and myself (an eclectic mix I must say!) set off to Kamakura on a Sunday April 2006.
Kamakura is a good day-trip destination from Tokyo. It's located about 30 miles southwest of Tokyo. Kamakura was Japan's capital for more than 100 years beginning in 1192 when the shogun Minamoto Yoritomo established Bakufu Samurai government. The atmosphere of old Japan still remains in Kamakura. Surrounded to the north, east and west by mountains and to the south by the open water of Sagami Bay, Kamakura is a natural fortress. Before the construction of several tunnels and modern roads that now connect it to Fujisawa, Ofuna and Zushi, on land it could be entered only through narrow artificial passes, among which the seven most important were called Kamakura's Seven Entrances , a name sometimes translated as "Kamakura's Seven Mouths". The natural fortification made Kamakura an easily defensible stronghold.

To get to Kamakura from Tokyo:

Kamakura is served by two railway companies, JR East and Enoden. JR East connects Kamakura directly with Yokohama and Tokyo, and Enoden (Enoshima Electric Railway) operates a tram like line from Kamakura Station along the Pacific coast to Enoshima and Fujisawa.
You can get to Kamakura using two options, using JR or Odakyu.

By JR
Take the JR Yokosuka Line from Shinagawa, Shinbashi, or Yokosuka Stations to Kamakura. It takes about less than one hour from the Tokyo Station to Kamakura Station.
For exploring Kamakura, use the Enoshima Electric train (Eno-den). The train itself is a tourist attraction. The Enoden is a streetcar-like train that connects Kamakura with Enoshima and Fujisawa. Its terminal station in Kamakura is located just west of JR Kamakura Station. An excursion ticket Kamakura/Enoshima Excursion Ticket is available @ 1970 yen.

By Odakyu
The cheapest way of visiting Kamakura is by Odakyu's Enoshima Kamakura Free Pass, which includes the round trip from Shinjuku to Kamakura and unlimited usage of the Enoden train for only 1430 Yen.
However, that the journey to Kamakura, using this pass, takes at least 90 minutes, compared to about 60 minutes by JR and also the kita kamakura station is not covered here as this falls in the JR Yokosuka line.

We dint go to Enoshima though, in which case it’s a good idea to do the JR line get down in kita kamakura first see the Zen temples of Kenchoji and Engakuji and then go further down to kamakura using the enoden.

Places to see in Kamakura:

Kamakura's top attractions are concentrated in three areas, around Kamakura Station (Hachimangu Shrine and kamakura beach) and Hase Station(Great Buddha and Hasedera) on the Enoden Line and Kita Kamakura Station (Kamakura's Zen temples Engakuji and Kenchoji) in the JR Yokosuka line.
Places to see in Tokyo