"Each step forward has a sacred meaning of its own"   Sri Chinmoy

Kamakura Temple Circuit - 15k Trail Run - Feb 2026 - Hase/Kamakura

After the incredible 10 days spent in Kyoto, where I ran to the summit of the sacred Mount Hiei, took part in races in the imperial palace gardens and hiked around the shrines and temples of that ancient city, I was fortunate enough to spend 3 days at Kamakura. Sri Chinmoy loved the Kotoko-In temple and its awe-inspiring Buddha statue, the Daibutsu. In fact he spoke of two locations in the world where the Buddha-consciousness could be felt very powerfully, and Kamakura was one of them. The other, which I hope to visit one day, is Borobudur in Indonesia. 

A trip to Kamakura to see the Daibutsu for myself was very much on my bucket list, so it was amazing to have that dream finally come true. We were staying in Hase, a village-suburb of Kamakura, only around 1km from Kotoko-In. On my first morning there, I was out early for a run to catch a glimpse of the Buddha and check out the entry-point to the Daibutsu trail. Before the temple has opened, you can sneak through the outer archway and look over the wall - which is pretty high - to see the entire head and face of the Buddha which stands a full 13 metres from its base. On all three of the days we were there, we visited to meditate, do pradakshana (walking meditation around the Buddha) and then meditate some more. There is a Sri Chinmoy Peace Tree that Sri Chinmoy planted along with the late abbot of Kotoko-In, so we held some meditations there too. It seems to be flourishing, but we were too early to see any blossom.

On my third day in town I got out early and ran the length of the sea front, already packed with wetsuited surfers catching the waves. After a mile or so I turned inland, ran a few streets and came to a Shinto shrine which marked the start of one of the trails that make an arc around the northern flank of Kamakura. Here I paused to pray briefly, taking care to walk to the side of the path into the shrine, as that is reserved for the spirit of the shrine. I had not realised this until I visited Japan, but you'll notice there are always footprints to the side of the stone pathway into a shinto holy place, while the pathway itself looks little-used!

Out of the back of this Yakumo Shrine was a steep set of stairs leading up the hillside into the forest - only just wide enough for one person. This was a hard effort at run-walk pace but it was good to be gaining height above the city. A twisty path led me on to a densely wooded ridge, with many ups and downs and tree-roots galore, meaning I had to walk a few technical sections. This is not a trail for flat-out running, that's for sure. The early morning peace was lovely and being immersed in the forest felt good. There were wayside shrines every so often, adding to the sacred feeling on the trail. 

Once back down from the ridge I ran a short section of street, making up for lost time on the winding and technical trail, before sighting the shrine at Kamakuragu and the temple at Zuisenjisomon. There was plenty of road on this route between the sections of trail, but it was very peaceful.  I noticed a few people heading to work or school (all of them pausing to bow as they passed their local shrine, even giggling schoolgirls looked up from their phones, paused and bowed before carrying on). There were also some older folk out sweeping their pavements - no wonder Japan is so tidy and clean - I don't think I saw any garbage the whole time I was there. Or any graffiti. Quite a contrast from my home city of Bristol (which I love by the way, I am comparing and contrasting but not criticising!).

After that quiet urban interlude I was back up on the trails, winding along another wooded ridge. 

This wayside shrine had a rope to help you get up to it..

And there were others too, all along the trail. 

Close to the midpoint of the run I passed through some lovely bamboo forest - there was a teahouse in the middle of it which would be a great place to take tea, but of course I was way too early.  

At the northern corner of the arc around Kamakura I came out of the woods at a golf course - the forest had been cleared here so I had a view out over the towers of Yokohama. I was soon back immersed in the forest though, keen to press on as the trail was way more technical, and therefore slower, than I had expected.... and we had 2 amazing temples to visit and a flight to catch later on in the day. 

I passed more shrines, looked down into valleys with serene temples among the trees, soaked up more of Kamakura's innate peace.

Finally I came to a temple that marked the entry point to the final section of trail, actually named the Daibutsu trail, that ends just north of Kotoko-In. It was after just over 2 hours of running that I ran down the hill from the trailhead to the temple gates and could once again glimpse the Daibutsu over the wall. Here is a full photo of Daibutsu from another day, as a partial shot just wouldn't do Him/It justice.

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