Hachinoki - Kamakura

We made reservations for the vegan Sakura lunch set and had a generous traditional temple cuisine meal, at a table overlooking the garden at Hachi-no-ki. The main part of the set was served on a vermillion tray: pickled vegetables, tofu, mushroom porridge, devil's tongue, sesame tofu . More small plates were served later: rice with mushrooms, a tofu-yam hot pot, miso soup. Different teas were served with each course . I enjoyed the lunch, but had more memorable shojin ryori experiences with tastes presentation at Bon restaurant in Tokyo , Meiji no Yakata in Nikko. Here, the staff was gracious and friendly ; the dining room was quiet. Hachi -no-ki is a ten minute walk from the Kita-Kamakura station on Yamanouchi-dori , the same street as the station . It's easy to find. The price was reasonable for this type of meal, and we knew reservations for the vegan option were necessary, based on their website and other reviewers.

This was one of the best meals of my life and although expensive, I cannot wait to go back to try it again! I visited kamakura on a national holiday (Labour Thanksgiving Day), and was so keen and excited about this restaurant that I booked it a couple of months in advance via their website (google translate was very helpful here and got an email back to confirm (this went to my spam, so ensure you double check and don't miss out). I confirmed just before leaving for my holiday and was so glad. The day I went, Kamakura was packed with visitors. I found the restaurant easily using the instructions and photos given here and on their website, but when I went in I was told they are full, sorry. I was upset, and took out my printed confirmation and said I had a reservation and from nowhere a Japanese man came out shouting my name to welcome me! It is definitely worth booking I was seated in a large room with about 10 other diners, all Japanese. Ladies in traditional kimono served us. I went for the sakura oprion, which was the biggest and most expensive (I thought it was once in a lifetime). A reay of food was bought out and each time I finished a bowl, it was taken away and something replaced it. The food kept coming and I was worried about how much more there could be! It was so filling I had this for lunch and was full for the rest of the day. Everything was beautiful, everything was delicious and the things they did with familiar (and unfamiliar) beans and vegetables was incredible. The bean plate was the best they had all been cooked in different ways and I didn't want it to end. The meal consisted of vegetables and grilled shiitake, sesame tofu with wasabi, deep-fried tofu and fried bean curd skin, simmered pumpkin,vegetable filled yuba (amazing boiled beans, fried okra dipped mugwort, plum fruit wine aperitif, miso soup, rice and Japanese apple for afters. You had unlimited green tea, but it was extremely bitter and you could order additional drinks if you wished. The sakura meal was huge, but worth the Y4389 as it was incredible. Kamakura is one of my favourite places in Japan, and this meal gives more reasons to keep going back!

This place is walking distance from where we live but for some reason we never tried it because we assumed it was a tourist trap. Recently though (having seen the reviews here, funnily enough we decided to give in and see what it was like. The first visit we went for lunch, having booked ahead (you need to book at least 1 day in advance) and chose the most expensive set option (about 5000jpy each) just to see what they can do. It was very pleasant. Well prepared and nicely presented temple cuisine in a simple but rustic, wabi-sabi-esque environment looking out onto a small garden. We thought it was expensive for what we got, but nice all the same and came away feeling a bit silly for never having ventured in before. The second time we went there was last week and this time was for dinner. We opted for the medium option rather than the most expensive one, since the only difference seemed to be some matsutake mushrooms and it was a huge price leap. Even the one we ordered cost around 8000jpy each, which is quite a bit already. This time too it was all very good but sadly we did not come away feeling it was value for money. The amount of food served was similar to what we got for a much better price at lunch time and even then we thought the price was high. The atmosphere felt less enticing at night too a bit sad and lonely without the garden view and natural light. The service was also a bit rushed we were in and out very quickly, which is not what you expect at this price point. We will no doubt come again but probably only for lunch. For dinner at that price you are better off going in to Tokyo and eating at one of the temple cuisine restaurants there (try Bon if you haven't already).

My boyfriend and I made reservations and visited this restaurant, the directions for which we found on Happy Cow. The staff was really friendly and accommodating and tried to explain things in English the best she could. It is a traditional Japanese restaurant (remove shoes, floor style seating). They offer a few set menus, that are pricey but we enjoyed the way that they served the menu. They have wheat-meat in one of the dishes that we ate and it was delicious we also liked the fried tofu pouch soup. I don't remember what it was called but we were fighting over it towards the end. (not really fighting) The vibe was really cool, we got to try a lot of new foods.

Had an amazing meal here. They have three restaurants near each other, so make sure you're at the veg one. They have an explanation sheet in English. Everything's veg (no fish stock)! It's not cheap $45 per person), but it's totally worth it everything was fresh and delicious.