Island Vibes at Enoshima

I’d set my alarm pretty early to gather my things and prepare for checkout. I woke abruptly and slightly worried of how I’d left the common area downstairs. The end of the evening was a little hazy and I couldn’t recall if I’d cleaned all the cans up and I remembered that the onsen was pretty strict about washing your dishes and putting the correct recycling away etc. While still a bit nervous of my previous actions, I packed my bag and slowly made my way downstairs for checkout. The staff didn’t make any comments and everything seemed to be clean so I assumed I’d taken care of my mess. I realized I had replaced the previous resident who’d stayed up late drinking and looking for company. I guess that’s an ongoing cycle at hostels. Before saying my final goodbyes I made a quick tour around the building and snapped some cool photos as to not let the experience of this stay pass me by! I eventually was all set and content with this portion of my trip. I was now ready to make my way back to the station where I’d board a train heading north towards Ofuna and my next hotel.

For my next stay I’d booked myself a business hotel in a small city called Ofuna. While in Shinjuku I had stayed in a business hotel and although they’re basic, they are super affordable and are perfect if you’re not going to be in the room much. I hadn’t ever heard about Ofuna before but found it while looking for something close to Kamakura which boasts a historic number of Buddhist temples and shrines. I’d chosen to stay in Ofuna opposed to Kamakura as Kamakura only had a few hotels around it and they were wayyyy more expensive. The plan today was to check-in, explore the area a little, and then head to Enoshima for the evening. Enoshima was another spot that hadn’t made a huge splash during my pre-trip research but as I was traveling I’d seen it pop up more and from google maps it looks like a cool little island.

After what seemed like a quick 2 hour train ride involving just one transfer I had finally arrived to Ofuna Station. The hotel was conveniently just a few hundred meters from the station. I was feeling much more relaxed about my traveling now and was navigating the train lines with ease. The most difficult part was finding the correct change to buy my next ticket from the kiosks. As I walked into the hotel I was slightly surprised to find out that not a single one of the three front desk attendees spoke any English. I was either used as either a training or a hazing experience as I was partnered with who appeared to be a brand new employee. Luckily for the both of us, checking into a hotel isn’t too difficult as long as you have all your documents. I was able to manage my way through the majority of the procedure and eventually the staff led me over to a kiosk to get my room card activated. It was a little awkward that they ran all my credentials at the desk and then had me go to a kiosk to once again put in my credentials to actually get my room key. After making my way to the elevator and up to my room I was pleasantly surprised that I had a pretty big balcony and could barely see some sort of buddha statue head over the trees in the distance. I knew from studying google maps that Kamakura was not particularly close but I also read that Kamakura had a huge buddha that many came to see and it dawned on me that maybe it was just THAT big that I could see it from my room. I opened my google maps and quickly realized that the buddha was actually the Ōfuna Kannon-ji which was located just on the other side of the station from me. It was also home to a rather large statue but not as big as the one in Kamakura.

As I did some quick research on Ofuna I felt a little bad I wouldn’t be staying in the area longer. There seemed to be some really cool parks and different things to see just within walking distance of the hotel. After completing my recon, I wandered my way out of the hotel and over to a local street which was riddled with a number of shops as well as some restaurants (was slowly realizing how common these are in each little city). It turned out to be more of a fish market than anything else, but I did pass a few shoe stores which got me thinking of purchasing another pair of casual shoes. I strolled up and down the street acting as if I could read the countless restaurant signs written in Kanji. I had spotted a sushi shop on my maps but was having some difficulty actually locating it. I eventually stumbled up to the small sushi spot which was located literally above a huge fish market and had it’s small entrance located in the nearby alleyway. As I made my way up the stairs I could smell the strong aroma of raw fish and was beginning to get excited to experience some of the most fresh fish possible. I walked in and was quickly greeted by the staff. The place seemed to be similar to the one I had visited back in Tokyo which had a conveyor belt that the sushi would appear on. Although, at this time the restaurant was pretty quiet and they probably didn’t want the fish to go bad so it wasn’t running. I snagged a seat at the sushi bar and was given a menu which conveniently had lots of photos (unfortunately there was no English menu). I didn’t quite have as much of a “deer in the headlights” look this time around as I’d visited a similar restaurant in Tokyo. This time around I’d have to actually order up the sushi but I was excited for the opportunity for me to practice some of my newly learned Japanese. The chef reluctantly made it way over to me while I was still trying to read the katakana and hiragana names but I’d been able to recite my order a few times to myself. Now on the spot it all just came out as some random sounds and after a few failed attempts I resorted to just pointing to the sushi photo that I wanted and holding up the number I’d like. By this time I’d found that I could say things in my head but once on the spot my heart would race and everything would escape my head. I also continuously caught myself in random situations saying “arigatou” which means “thank you” instead of “sumimasen” which means “excuse me”. Imagine bumping into someone on the train and saying thank you instead of excuse me.

The chef seemed to understand my order as he left me with some hot water to once again create my own tea. He returned shortly after with part of my order. The sushi pieces that came out were HUGE and so fresh and delicious. I was in heaven as I scarfed down more than the average guest probably would. After completely having my fill and finishing off a beer accompanied by plenty of tea, I caught one of the exiting patrons saying “gochisousama deshita” and quickly looked it up to find out that it means “thanks for the meal” and compliments the “itadakimasu” which essentially gives “thanks for the meal”. Itadakimasu is meant to be said at the beginning of a meal before eating and gochisousama deshita is meant to be said when you’ve completely finished eating or drinking as to say thanks.

I’d already learned that “oishi katta” meant that the meal had been delicious (and when actually eating you could say “oishi” or “umai” to show how delicious the food is). I utilized this knowledge and gave my own “gochisousama” and “oishikatta” as I headed to the counter to pay my tab. I was feeling super confident with the payment system by now and was able to whip out the exact change with confidence. After departing I quickly returned to the hotel to gather rally before beginning my small evening adventure to Enoshima. I actually hadn’t done much research on the area and had actually spotted it randomly on the map and noticed it’s abundance of reviews which sparked my interest.

At the least I assumed there’d be something unique to see and an Izakaya nearby that I could lose myself in. I hopped onto the train in the direction of the coast with the plan to eventually transfer onto a small tram-like train that would take me close to the actual destination. The directions weren’t too complex given my newfound confidence with the japanese railway. Most of the station maps that I came across still didn’t have the names in English, but all it took was a quick google search for the station name to find the Kanji for it.

The tram wasn’t very busy but still had a decent amount of people making their way for Enoshima. I was a bit shocked by how close we traveled between apartments while traveling. We were literally passing between two apartment buildings sometimes with just mere feet for between the train car and the building. We seemed to be passing through a pretty busy residential area and the car became more and more spacious with each stop. I eventually arrived at the Shonan-Enoshima station and the last stop.

I was slowly becoming more and more excited to explore the island on this little ‘bonus’ adventure. As I stepped out off the tram, I found myself on the 4^th floor of a station that overlooked the residential area and onwards to the coast. I took a few minutes to soak up the sights and was grateful that there aren’t many tall buildings in the outskirts of Japan which allows, in most cases, the ability to see for long distance and capture amazing views.

I proceeded down what seemed to be the main pedestrian street leading to the beach and also Enoshima Island. There were a number of tourist shops and it totally gave off a “surfer town” vibe based off the abundance of coffee shops and lax-looking restaurants. I finally arrived on the beach just around sunset which was perfect timing to catch some amazing views of Mt. Fuji in the distance (which was still 42 miles away and visible). I was able to snap some amazing photos of the sunset but also noticed people taking advantage of the beach, sunset, and Mt. Fuji views to capture their next Instagram hit.

The entrance to Enoshima was much larger and amazing than I had expected. Enoshima is a smaller island just located off the coast (attached by a bridge). In 1880, after the Shinto and Buddhism separation order of the new Meiji government had made the land available, much of the island was purchased by Samuel Cocking, a British merchant, in his Japanese wife’s name. He developed a power plant and extensive botanical gardens including a very large greenhouse. Although the original greenhouse was destroyed in the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake, the botanical garden (now the Samuel Cocking Garden) remains an attraction with over half a million visitors a year. Enoshima is also the home of Benzaiten, the goddess of music and entertainment, who is enshrined on the island. The island in its entirety is dedicated to the goddess, who is said to have caused it to rise from the bottom of the sea in the sixth century.

I cruised past the two dragon statues which are positioned at the beginning of the bridge and made my way to the base of the hill. It appeared there would be a bit of climbing involved to get up to the peak but I still had zero overall expectations of this entire experience. I was actually pretty content just snapping some cool photos of Mt. Fuji although I also deducted there’d be more to see. It was getting late and I wasn’t sure what kind of experience I had in store but decided to snag myself one of the picture-perfect ice creams that you can find all over Japan before making my climb along the pathway through the small mountainside. The main path took me up past several shops which were bustling in their final hour of daylight. The incline wasn’t anything too strenuous and at the end I found myself at the main gates to the Enoshima island which greets you with an abundance of stairs.

I didn’t really have a map but wasn’t really in a rush so I opted to go head up the path on the right. I continued around the side of the mountain and eventually circled around to the main pathway. The island had sooooo much more than I had imagined. The place with filled with something to see every 20 meters or so. I made my way to the top of the hill – it was big enough there was even a gondola you could pay to go up instead. I’d finally reached the plateau but the sun had pretty much set at this point and everything seemed to be closed up. I took advantage of some night views of the nearby city and eventually made my way back down the mountain, this time along the left side of the island which turned out to be a much easier and more common route. The views of the ocean and the coastline were breathtaking and I continued to venture around the island for much longer than I’d initially planned.

I made myself a mental note of how nice it’d be to visit the island another time when I could plan a proper exploration. There were lots of cool things on the island such as the botanical garden, the lovers bell, the cave shrine, and the sea candle. I finally began my return to the station while contemplating what I’d do for dinner. By the time I actually arrived back at the Ofuna station I’d decided to just do a convenience store dinner as it was getting late and many of the places around me were beginning to close. Enoshima had proved to be very much worth the evening trip and I was now pretty exhausted from traveling all day. Once back at my hotel I showered up, slipped into my hotel-provided pajamas, and prepared for an amazing night of rest before what would be my historical visit to Kamakura the next day.