Late January 2026. Having missed the winter plums at Chofu’s Jindai Botanical Garden, I headed north to Kamakura in search of another famous waxflower spot—yes, I know, I’m persistent. My destination was this temple.
Kimpōzan Jōchi-ji Temple. A renowned temple ranked fourth among the Kamakura Gozan (Five Mountains of Kamakura), belonging to the Rinzai Zen Engakuji School. Having heard it was one of the top places for winter plum in the area, I visited with my LUMIX S1 IIE and SIGMA 20-200mm lens.
Let me get straight to the point. As far as winter plume goes, it was a total bust.
That day, I saw almost no flowers within the temple grounds. Even the few that had blooms were already past their prime, like this one.
Judging by the flower shape, I think it might be a Soshin Winter Plum. I’m not well-versed enough to know if this is normal for how it withers after flowering or how the fruit? forms, but it’s wilting to a degree that’s a bit concerning. You might say it has its own charm in this state, but frankly, I was quite disappointed. Seems I completely missed the season.
So, the winter plum gets another consolation prize. Cheering up, let’s enjoy a photo stroll around Jōchi-ji Temple.
It was so cold but Kamakura was clear and sunny that day.
The low winter sun casts beautiful oblique light, making the deep forest of Jōchi-ji Temple incredibly photogenic everywhere you look.
I later realized this was apparently the main hall. Perhaps it’s because it’s a Zen temple that it has such a simple design.
A charming bamboo grove
At the water station used in the cemetery, a hand-operated well pump appears to be still in active use.
A tunnel carved through a rock wall, with an atmosphere that seems to beckon you to another world.
After circling the entire temple grounds, we came upon the Hotei statue of the Kamakura Seven Lucky Gods.
I was able to fully savor the tranquil atmosphere of the ancient temple.
This is the full view from in front of the bell tower gate.
I missed the winter plum, but seeing this much was well worth the trip.
This Kamakura expedition after so long made for quite a long article, but what the heck, while I’m at it, I’ll include the steps of Tokeiji Temple’s approach path, visible along the walk from Kita-Kamakura Station to Jochiji Temple. They were quite lovely too.
That’s all from the scene.
