Enoshima Again!

Enoshima Island  江ノ島 ........an island about 4 km's in circumference, located at the mouth of the Katase River, part of Fujisawa City and linked to the mainland by a 600 metre long bridge. Benzaiten, the goddess of music and entertainment, is enshrined on the island. The island in its entirety is dedicated to the goddess, who is said to have made it rise from the bottom of the sea in the sixth century. The island is surrounded by high sea cliffs, rocks and tidal pools.

This description sums up Summer in Enoshima...During summer the mainland and beach areas of Enoshima city are all about sea sports; particularly surfing, sailing and jet boating. The surf isn't great by most standards, but during Summer it is the place to be seen for the trendy younger crowd as it is conveniently close to Tokyo, providing an excuse for tens of thousands of funky Japanese to strut around with bleached hair and chocolate-bronze skin. 

I have visited Enoshima with 'Team Thompson' in the Summer to go swimming (very hot, very crowded) and to do a Sumo Hash Run (even hotter), in the Autumn, in the the Winter (with Mandy and David...brrrrr!!) and then in Spring (with Marion) and again with Sarah and Steve (Sven). Swimming Japanese style was a definite eye opener and so very hot! The day I did the Hash Run I can't ever recall feeling so hot. I ran with Alex (a fellow Aussie and co worker of Steve's) and we were at melting point. We did about 5 km's around town before crossing the bridge and running up all those steps to the top of Enoshima Island. Over 8km's....Phew!!! It was hot. On that day we enjoyed a meal at a nearby restaurant, with the Sumo Hash gang, before returning home. With Mandy and Dave we were rugged up in coats, beanies and scarves, then with Marion I enjoyed 'treasure seeking' along the rocks at the base of the island.

Returning with Sarah and Sven, I was determined to complete more, if not all, of the sites on the island. As such, we climbed to the top of the lighthouse and visited the caves along the coast. We had a terrific day and returned home satisfied with yet another day of successful touring (Go 'Jenny Lost in Japan Tours!!!).

Warnings of tsunami dangers will never be taken lightly after Japan's March tragedy. The signs warn that.... Earthquake=Tsunami=Refuge!

The township of Katase, as well as Enoshima, lies at the mouth of the Katase River. The 600 metre long bridge allows visitors to gain easy access to the island and all that it offers.

Leaving the station behind, you pass under the main road via a tunnel. In the Summer with so many people visiting the beach it must help relieve the potential for big traffic jams.

Once you have crossed the bridge, you see marine product shops, souvenir shops, inns and traditional restaurants on the approach to Enoshima-jinja Shrine.

Climbing Enoshima Island's hill reveals beautiful gardens, shrines and memorials. There are many stairs, high slopes and hills on Enoshima but, if you don't like climbing, you can take an escalator called Enoshima Escar for 300 yen. I may have found it hard running up those steps in Summer, but no way am I going to take the escalator. One...I would rather spend my money on something else and two....the exercise will keep me from needing an escalator!! That's my theory anyway!

The Tropical Botanical Garden on Enoshima Island is very beautiful. For a small admission fee of 300 yen, you can wander around the gardens and also climb the Observation Lighthouse. Climbing the Lighthouse gives you a commanding view of the whole area and, if you are lucky, you might even see the mighty Fuji-san. As is was cloudy we only saw the vague outline of him.

The cave (Enoshima Iwaya) is reached by descending the steps at the end of the path that has taken you across the island.  It was created by over 6,000 years of sea erosion. Inside the cave, there are stone statues of Buddha and even mysterious stones that glow!

As we entered we were handed our torches.....candles enclosed by lanterns.

An angry looking green dragon greeted us in the cave. The Legend of Enoshima describes how a fearful dragon won the love of the beautiful, heavenly maiden, Benzaiten (the goddess of music and entertainment).

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Leaving the cave, we had a steep climb back to the top and then the walk across the island and down again to the bridge. Naturally, we completed the day with the customary ice cream!!! With our batteries recharged, we made our way back to Yokohama ......Enoshima to Ofuna then the Negishi Line to Ishikawacho!