Enoshima

Enoshima
6/28
'What's Enoshima?' you say.  I'm glad you asked.  Enoshima is a small island southwest of Kamakura, about an hour and change from Kawasaki (that's probably closer to two hours from downtown Tokyo).  It's a popular day trip destination for city-dwellers, especially during the summer.  After staying a night in Kurata-sensei's house, I headed over here to explore.

The island is really small--enough that I walked the entire length of the island and back comfortably in a morning on one of the island's two streets.  There's a bridge for motorists to get to the island, but once there they will have to park and walk, because Enoshima is basically just one large volcanic rock.  There's a series of escalators that will take you to the top of the island for a fee, but I decided my young thighs could use the exercise.  I also brought my five-pound laptop with me for the weekend, which was useful for staying in touch but which I regretted about ten minutes after I found my first set of stairs.

The view of Mt Fuji from the bridge.  Fuji-san doesn't exactly tower over Tokyo like I'd believed for some reason before coming here, but you catch occasional glimpses of it on clear days, which are pretty rare during the rainy season.

The main street, as seen from the bus stop.  It's jammed with tourist shops selling mostly food, drinks, and plastic souvenirs.  This is actually really useful when travelling in Japan, because you'll need omiyage to bring home.  I bought a set of manju (cakes filled with red bean paste), yokan (red bean jelly, about the consistency of electrolysis gels), and local craft beer--wisely, on my way back home.

Despite being so small, Enoshima has in addition to a Buddhist temple at least four distinct Shinto shrines, all (I think) dedicated to Benzaiten, the matron goddess of the island.  This is the shrine off the main path, not painted bright red or filled with expensive souvenirs, and ignored by everyone except the old barefoot caretaker.

Turtle posing heroically on underling turtle.

I ate an apple, mostly just to lighten my backpack, in the company of a hawk (tobi) which I thought was cool until I realized that the island is swarming with them.  If you buy seafood from local vendors (which is highly, highly recommended), they'll tell you to eat quickly and watch for airborne thievery.

The highest point on the island features a botanical gardens, which I didn't go into because gardens are boring, and a Buddhist temple whose gardens I explored because exploring is fun.  Near the shrine below I bought a squid and a clam from a street vendor, who grilled them both in front of me.  They were good.

Me at shrine number four on the far side of the island.  Not pictured: the nearby "lovers' bell," which I found but didn't particularly enjoy because I went to Enoshima by myself.

This shot cost me dearly.  There are proper beaches on the north side of the island, which is sheltered from the pacific, and rocky coast on the far side.

The Iwaya caves are a pair of sea caves located on the south end.  Inside are dozens of granite likenesses of Buddhist deities along with a few more touristy attractions.  Unfortunately, the cave was too dark for many of my photos to turn out well, but here is a print of the five-headed dragon enshrined at Ryokomyoji from last post.  Also, Enoshima is a little-known playable area of Hyrule.

Not an especially interesting photograph, but a great backstory.  Apparently, before the island was developed and the caves commercialized, bioluminescent fauna would come in with the tide and light the caves.  This of course never happens anymore, so they hung a string of Christmas lights over the water with the caption, 'The numerous noctiluca used to inhabit the area while floating the sea [sic] around Enoshima.'  I thought this was great.

Overall, the caves were mildly interesting and arguably worth one entrance fee (￥500) but I can see how the tide pools were more populated.  After the caves I walked back, purchased my omiyage, and fell asleep on one of Enoshima's popular beaches, famous for its windsurfing conditions.  By then a storm was brewing but didn't actually break until I was on the train, which made for a nap of legendary comfortableness.

Probably my best shot. Signing out.