When you visit Kamakura, you are bound to spend some time at Kamakura Station. As well as being an important transportation hub, with a variety of train, bus and taxi services, it is also at the heart of Kamakura’s main shopping and dining district. Several hotels are located close to the station and there are some popular tourist sites in the area too.
Most of the station’s main facilities are on the east side of the station building
For a clear explanation of the station’s general layout with guidance on finding your platform as well as the station’s information and ticketing services, please see our article Kamakura Station Map – Finding Your Way.
This article will introduce the most useful facilities and services at Kamakura Station and explain their locations.
Station Facilities
Kamakura Station has two entrances: one on the east side and one on the west side. Most of the station’s main facilities are located on the station building’s east side. If you are facing towards the station’s East Entrance ticket gates you will see ticket machines on your right and beyond those there is a Tourist Information Center.
The Tourist Information Center on the east side of Kamakura Station
The Tourist Information Center is open from 9:00 to 17:00 and has multilingual staff who can help with general inquiries as well as hand out tourist maps and sightseeing pamphlets. On the other side of the Tourist Information Center is the station’s ticket office and beyond that is a cafe.
5 Crossties Coffee is the station cafe
5 Crossties Coffee is a cafe beside the station’s ticket office serving sandwiches, salads, light meals and desserts. Beyond the cafe is a branch of Mizuho Bank and beyond the bank there is a small locker room.
Mizuho Bank with a international card ATM
If you go back to face the East Entrance ticket gates and look left you will see the Cial Kamakura shopping center.
The entrance to Cial Kamakura
On the first floor of Cial Kamakura there are a large number of stalls selling traditional confectionery and souvenirs as well as a French-style bakery cafe. On the second floor there is a cafe and a traditional Japanese restaurant specializing in seafood dishes.
NewDays convenience store at Kamakura Station
On the other side of Cial Kamakura is a NewDays convenience store and beyond that are some public toilets and a large locker room.
Signs for the station restrooms
Restrooms
Restrooms can be found inside the JR ticket gates by the east and west exits.
Kamakura Station East Exit restrooms
If you are facing the East Exit ticket gates from the inside, then the restrooms are on your right.
The West Exit restrooms
If you are facing the West Exit ticket gates from the inside, then the restrooms are on your right.
The Enoden Restrooms
There are also restrooms inside the Enoden ticket gates at the end of Platform 3.
There are also some public restrooms outside the station’s East Exit. Turn right after coming out of the East Exit and you will find them after passing the Cial Kamakura shopping center and the NewDays convenience store.
Buses
Bus stops can be found directly outside the East Exit of Kamakura Station and there are a number of useful bus routes running to the main tourist attractions from there. For more details please see our article Taking a Bus in Kamakura.
Buses outside the East Exit of Kamakura Station
Taxis
There are taxi stands directly outside both the East Exit and West Exit of Kamakura Station.
A taxi at the East Exit of Kamakura Station
If you have a lot of luggage and your hotel is far from the station, a taxi is a better option than a bus. For more details on local taxi services see our article Taxis in Kamakura.
A taxi at the West Exit of Kamakura Station
Bicycle Rental
There is a bicycle rental store called Kamakura Rent-a-Cycle located to the south side of Kamakura Station’s East Exit. This store also has a luggage storage service. To find it, turn right after exiting the East Exit, and walk along the station building towards the Kamakura Ekimae Police Box. At the end of the station building there is a sign for the Rent-a-Cycle Store ahead of you and some stairs. Go up the stairs and the store is ahead of you. For more information on this store see our article Kamakura Rent-a-Cycle Bicycle Rental.
Kamakura Rent-a-Cycle
Lockers
Lockers can be found inside both the JR East and Enoden ticket gates and also outside both the east and west exits of the station building. For more details please see our article: Lockers at Kamakura Station.
Lockers inside Kamakura Station
Hotels
Hotels around Kamakura Station include Kamakura Seizan, Kamakura Hotel, Hotel Metropolitan Kamakura, Gen Hotel Kamakura and Tosei Hotel Cocone Kamakura.
Hotel Metropolitan Kamakura
Police
Kamakura Ekimae Police Box is located outside the station’s East Exit on the south side of the station building. It is open 24 hours a day.
Kamakura Ekimae Police Box
The Old Station Clock Tower
Outside the station’s West Exit is a small public plaza with a clock tower at its center. This is actually a piece of Kamakura Station’s history, as it was once a part of the old station building that was built in 1916 and demolished in 1983. Because of its distinctive pointed roof, it was nicknamed “tongari-boshi no tokei-dai” or “pointy-hat clock tower” and was a familiar landmark for local residents. When the old station building was replaced, local people called for the clock tower to be saved and so it was given its own plaza. It is now a popular meeting point outside the station. The new station building, which was built in 1984, has a new pointy-hat clock tower, which you can see on the east side of the station.
The Old Station Clock Tower
Beside the old clock tower is a stone monument to Langdon Warner, a Harvard professor of history and archaeology who specialized in East Asian art. During World War II, Warner was an adviser to the US military and appealed for the cities of Kyoto, Nara and Kamakura to be saved from bombing because of those cities’ profound cultural importance. It is believed that much of Kamakura’s historical and architectural treasures were saved because of his efforts.
The Langdon Warner monument
Article and original photos by Michael Lambe. All rights reserved. Last updated 28-Dec-2025.
