Date: 28th June 2018

I previously visited Meigetsu-in in autumn of 2017 to see the autumn colours, and did mentioned in my post (read the autumn post for history of the temple) about that trip that I will be making another trip back to temple in summer to see the hydrangeas which it is famous for. I was sure I was going to be late since I had planned to arrive at 8 in the morning. If I recall correctly, one of the train lines was disrupted and so there was a larger congestion than usual. Turned out, I had planned to arrive 30 mins before the opening time (8.30 a.m.) in anticipation of a long queue. I ended up arriving at 8.20 a.m., but the line was not long, though the appearance of traffic control persons made it seem as if it was going to be an issue later.

Once the temple opened, it was fast enough for us to get in, and I was happy to find that there was also not much of a queue behind us, so the temple was not as crowded as what I expected. The hydrangeas was in full bloom, the mostly blue and purple hue of the flowers were very beautiful. It is said that Meigetsu-in has over 2,500 hydrangeas and most of the hydrangeas here are of the Hime-Ajisai variety.

Lets get on with the pictures!

The inner garden did not require the extra 500 yen at the time of my visit since the irises are not blooming anymore.

Though, by the time I left (at about 9.30 a.m.), a bunch of school kids on school trips started to take over the temple. The same experience I had in autumn – oh, Kamakura.

Info

Opening hours: 09:00 – 16:00 (08:30 – 17:00 in June)

Admission fee: 300 yen, 500 yen in June (additional 500 yen for inner garden from end of May to mid June for the iris garden, and from end of November to early December for the autumn foliage)

Access

Meigetsu-in is just an 8-minute walk from Kita-Kamakura Station on the JR Yokosuka line.