Day Trip to Enoshima from Tokyo

On our second last day in Tokyo, we wanted to see something new. We were planning on going to Yokohama to visit the Cup of Noodles museum but when we checked the opening hours, we found it was closed on Golden Week and that's the week we were in Japan. We looked on the metro map and found an island off the mainland called Enoshima.

Here is a vintage art piece by Hokosai Katsushika on Enoshima.

Since we were staying near the Bakurocho station, it only made sense to take the JO train from there to the Ofuna station. You can say there's something about taking one train and staying on until you see your stop. When we finished our cruise on April 26, we took the JO train from Yokohama to the Bakurocho station where (our hotel) Comfort Inn was. It was perfect because if we took the 4th exit, we emerge right next door to the hotel. This is great on a rainy day because the metro is just steps from the hotel.

When we got on the JO train, we noticed it was going all the way to Zuishi. I'm not familiar with all the stops but it does help to learn them. One reason is because of direction. If you see a train that ends at Zuishi, you know you are getting on the right train because Zuishi is past Ofuna. If the train read Narita, you would be going the opposite direction. Another reason for learning the stops is that not all trains go to Narita. If you were headed towards the airport and the train does not go that far, you will need to get off and transfer to one that goes all the way to Narita airport. That could add time and stress to your journey and you may be delayed.

The JO train will take us to the Ofuna station where we will need to get off and find the Shonan Monorail to take us to Enoshima. The ride from Tokyo to Ofuna was pleasant. I was surprised to see so many people in business suits on the train from Tokyo to Yokohama. Its as though they live outside of Tokyo but work there. The commute on the train is fast but can you imagine travelling over an hour each way, every day?

When we reached the Ofuna station, we got off. The station was pretty big with a lot of department like stores in it. Most train stations have a variety of shops in them. We saw a sign pointing our way to the monorail so we followed it. It was a 5-10 minute walk from Ofuna station to the Shohan station.

At the Shohan station, there were kiosks on the right of a counter. First thing we did was to push the button for 'English'. I'm so glad they make it easy for you, but I still mess up. We purchased 2 return tickets to Enoshima.

After buying the tickets and walking through the gates, we noticed the flashing IC card on the gate. We could have used our SUICA card instead of buying tickets. Our bad.

I wished I took the time to get down the street level to see what the monorail looked like and how high it was from the street. Perhaps next time.

From the station, it didn't look any different than a normal train. There was an apparatus on top of the train but otherwise, it looked like a regular subway train.

The Ofuna station is actually in Kamakura. Did you know the famous wave that you see on vintage prints of Japan is the wave in Kamakura? We figured the next time we come to Tokyo, we will explore Kamakura more.

Enoshima is an island just off the mainland. The monorail winds through the streets and neighbourhoods of Kamakura and Fujisawa before it reaches the end of line. There we will need to walk to the bridge that connects the mainland to the island.

The Shonan monorail is the first of its kind in Japan, a suspended SAFEGE monorail in the Kanagawa Prefecture. There are suspended monorails in Germany, Wuhan in China and Memphis in Tennessee.

The monorail journey is a 6.6 km trek and it was a lot of fun riding it. It felt more like an amusement ride than a transport ride. 

Based on the wiki, the monorail was built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. the same company who played a significant role in the production of ships, aircraft and military equipment for WW2.

This was a reminder to me because we had visited the museum at Nagasaki and one of the stories talked about an engineer who lost his kids to the bomb while he was far away from the hypocenter. He worked for Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. 

When we got off the monorail, we went to the rooftop for a view. It was beautiful that day. Sunny, clear skies and warm - just the right temperature to visit the beach resort.

Mt Fuji was barely visible to the south. Luckily there was snow on the cap, otherwise the mountain would be lost in the sky.

From the Shonan-Enoshima station, we walked along Subana Street which had a few residences, stores and restaurants. There was a train crossing and I noticed it was a train to Kamakura. The Enoden train takes 25 minutes to reach Kamakura.

At the end of Subana Street, the island of Enoshima is reachable by bridge.

The Enoshima Benzaiten Nakamise Dori (business park).

There was a shrine off the street that we visited. After entering the gate, there was a small garden and a washing well. We weren't sure if it was a shrine or someone's residence.

 

There were vendors grilling scallops and brushing a sweet sauce on it. Cindy reminded me of the scrumptious BBQ scallops we had on our first trip to Japan when we toured Gion. 

We had to try the scallops but unfortunately, it wasn't hot enough. Next time, we have to listen to our eyes more than our stomach. The BBQ grill wasn't sizzling enough.

After touring the island, we found a traditional Japanese restaurant along Subana Street for lunch. We chose to sit on a tatami mat instead of a normal table and chair. Cindy was fine because she had been practicing yoga but not me, I wasn't used to sitting like a pretzel.

We ordered the local beer and tempura.

There were a lot of stairs at Enoshima. If you're unable to walk or climb the stairs, there is the Luminous Way which are a set of escalators that take you up to the Samuel Cocking Garden.

At the top of the stairs where the Torii gate was, there was another set of steps (100 more steps) that led to a Shinto shrine.

Beautiful shrine set within a forest.

After climbing up to the Torii gate, there were more stairs and eventually, there was a viewing platform. There was a sign that said this was the harbor that was used in Tokyo 2020 Olympics games for sailing. The yacht harbor was built for the 1964 Olympics.

This is the bridge that separates the mainland from Enoshima. On low tide, the sand bar under the bridge allows people to walk across (see vintage art).

At the summit, the Samuel Cocking garden surrounds the Sea Candle, an observation tower on Enoshima. There were two ways to get up to the Sea Candle. You could climb the outside circular stairs or take an elevator up.  We took the elevator up.

After the observation tower, we explored the botanical garden.

Overall, it was a nice day in Enoshima. We enjoyed touring it and was happy that we decided to eat lunch in Fujisawa instead of on the island of Enoshima. We found the restaurants on the island a bit pricey as they catered to the tourists. Many of them had outdoor patios and aquariums filled with shellfish.

We returned to Tokyo taking the reverse route.