7 Kamakura Street Foods to Try: Tasty Treats in Kanagawa's Temple Town

Kamakura is a beautiful coastal city in Kanagawa Prefecture, just an hour south of Tokyo. Once the main political hub of Japan, it’s often compared to Kyoto because it’s home to around 150 historic temples and stunning shrines. The most famous of these is the Great Buddha of Kamakura at Kotoku-in Temple, which is the second-largest bronze Buddha statue in the country and has become a symbol of the city. In this video, we join Shizuka Anderson as she visits this iconic landmark, then moves on to Komachi Dori to sample some of the best Kamakura street food on offer!

Kamakura Street Food: Tastiest Treats on Komachi Dori Street

There are plenty of things to do in Kamakura, from touring the gorgeous temples and shrines to sampling the delicious food in the area. Both Kamakura and Enoshima – a nearby island with panoramic ocean views – are great places to relax on the beach during the warmer months.

One of the city’s main attractions is Komachi Dori, a shopping street packed with souvenir stores and cafes, plus lots of street food stalls offering a delicious mix of classic Japanese snacks and trendy new treats. Check out the video for a closer look at all the tasty Kamakura street food Shizuka discovers!

7 Kamakura Street Foods to Try Along Komachi Dori Street

1. Deep-fried Fish Cake
2. Corn Fish Cake
3. Shrimp Shumai
4. Cup Sushi
5. Deep-fried Bread (Age Pan)
6. Blueberry Cream Cheese Buddha Cake
7. Ichigo Dango

1. Deep-fried Fish Cake

As a coastal city, Kamakura cuisine includes some of the freshest seafood around. To begin with, Shizuka tries a plain deep-fried fish cake with a bouncy texture and subtle, sweet flavor that really allows the taste of the fish to speak for itself.

2. Corn Fish Cake

Next up is a corn fish cake, which blends a fish cake base with whole pieces of corn to create a distinctive snack with a super soft consistency and even sweeter flavor. Served on a wooden skewer, it’s perfect for nibbling on as you explore Kamakura!

3. Shrimp Shumai

The final treat in Shizuka’s trio of seafood skewers is shrimp shumai. This consists of three steamed dumplings filled with shrimp meat and coated in ponzu sauce made from citrus juice, vinegar, and soy sauce, resulting in a chewy and juicy mouthful with every bite.

4. Cup Sushi

This unique dish is exactly what it sounds like – sushi served in a large cup! With layers of glistening salmon roe, sushi rice mixed with sesame seeds, rolled omelet, crunchy salted pickles, shirasu whitebait fish, and mushrooms, it’s an interesting and modern take on a Japanese classic!

5. Deep-fried Bread (Age Pan)

The sugary scent of this next treat entices Shizuka in, and she tries a piping hot, deep-fried bread straight out of the fryer. The inside is super soft and fluffy, with a dusting of kinako (roasted soybean flour) on the outside to give it a nutty flavor that's distinctively Japanese.

6. Blueberry Cream Cheese Buddha Cake

For a sweet treat that is unmistakably Kamakura-esque, this Buddha-shaped cake is hard to beat! The outside is reminiscent of a fluffy pancake with the added crisp of a waffle, whilst the inside oozes with yummy blueberry and cream cheese filling.

7. Ichigo Dango

Shizuka’s final sample of Kamakura street food is ichigo dango, which is strawberry mochi balls on a stick. These beautifully decorated, chewy rice cakes are layered with sweet fresh strawberries to offer a delicious mix of textures and flavors.

Kamakura Access Information

A Kamakura day trip from Tokyo is a fantastic and convenient addition to your itinerary. The journey from Shibuya or Shinjuku Station to Kamakura Station takes about an hour on the Shonan-Shinjuku line, whilst from Tokyo Station to Kamakura it’s about an hour on the Yokosuka line. Komachi Dori is just a few minutes’ walk from Kamakura Station.

Attend a traditional banquet with geisha in Kamakura!

Want to experience a truly unforgettable dinner in this beautiful city? Enjoy a Private Banquet Dinner with Geisha in Kamakura! Held inside a historic teahouse that’s over 100 years old, you’ll indulge in authentic Japanese cuisine in the company of two talented geisha. You’ll get to watch a traditional dance and musical performance, plus at least one of the geisha will be fluent in English so you can together chat about the food, Japanese culture, and the geisha lifestyle.

Craving more Japanese street food videos? Check out our Enoshima street food guide or Sunamachi Ginza video and subscribe to Japan by Food on YouTube!