Nov. 2010 Trip - Post #4: "Enoshima Island"

Thanks to a good suggestion from a friend, we decided to spend our Saturday afternoon exploring Enoshima Island.  In case you don’t know, Enoshima Island is a small island that sticks out into Sagami Bay, around 1 hour south of Tokyo (by 2 trains).  It is connected to the mainland via two small causeway bridges.  One is for walking, and the other is for cars.  While there are some cars on this island, the majority of the people who visit just walk over the bridge.  In this picture taken from the hill on Enoshima, you can see the two bridges, and all of the people who are walking over.

Once over on the island, there is a walking path that you can take all the way up and over the steep hill in the middle to the rocky shores on the far side.  On that far side, Enoshima is famous for its caves, which you are actually able to walk into.  Over the course of making this walking journey, there are many interesting sights to see such as the following picture.

These cats get looks from just about every visitor that walks by.  Most of the sights along this path are of course geared towards the heavy tourist trade.  There are shops which sell goods and food.  Some are quite simple like this food stand.

Then there are more elaborate full restaurants like this one, that typically specialize in some sort of seafood   All command spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean.

Onto the other side of the hill you walk down to the rocky shores.  This is near where the caves are.  Many people walk down over the tide pools, and there are also a few people who fish from down there.

Making the hike over the hill to the caves on the far side and back creates a nice appetite.  While Mary stuck to the safety of tempura shrimp, I took part in something a little more fun!

After the wonderful light snack which included of course some Japanese beer, it became dark so we headed to the top of the hill where there is a lighthouse tower with an observation deck on top.  Here it can be seen with its beautiful illumination.

We took the elevator to the top (you can also use the stairs I believe), and the views of the mainland were quite amazing.

It was a wonderful afternoon spent on Enoshima Island.  It is quite a unique place, and I would recommend it to anyone.  Here is a map of the island.  Basically we followed the red line to the caves and back.