My First Island Hopping in Japan

Posted on June 19, 2007 by Nene

The first sightseeing spot I have visited in Japan is Enoshima Island. I had just arrived a few weeks earlier, when we got out of the house one morning to go to Enoshima Island, we noticed the weather was not cooperating with us. It was cloudy and it seemed it would rain soon. However, we decided to continue our plan. My husband bought two one-day free passes from the Sagamihara Onno Station information office near the entrance.

Enoshima is a small holy island located to the south of Kanagawa Prefecture in Fujisawa at the end of the Odakyuu line that runs from ShinjukuOne of Tokyo's 23 wards and home to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building and the world's busiest train station. to the centre of Kanagawa Prefecture.

When we arrived at Enoshima, a big sculpture of a female Goddess welcomed us. The goddess of Enoshima, Benten (or Benzaiten), is the only female of the seven gods of luck (shichi-fukujin) which are often represented in Japanese theatre and art. She is the Buddhist patron of literature and music, wealth and femininity. According to one legend, a sea dragon used to ravage the island of Enoshima until Benten married him. My husband took a picture of me while I was standing beside the statue.

We were glad that the weather turned out well. As we continued on our trail, I noticed the local villagers have their souvenir shops or restaurants in front of their houses who offered every visitor a greeting of “Irasshaimase”. As I looked at the place, I remembered the movie, “Spirited Away” or in Japanese “Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi”, an Academy Award winning 2001 film. I thought maybe the setting of the movie was held here because the place was similar to what I saw from the movie.

We climbed the cemented stairs. Then, we took pictures of the beautiful scenery, and paid respect to the shrines. We entered the Enoshima Botanical Garden which has a large collection of Camellias. Inside the garden is a 53.7 metre observation tower offering views of the entire island and towards KamakuraAncient capital of Japan during the Kamakura shogunate, from 1185 to 1333. One hour from Tokyo. Very cultural city where best of traditional Japan is still alive. and YokohamaJapan's second largest city and the capital of Kanagawa prefecture..

We also saw Saifukuji (Enoshima Daishi). The entrance gates are flanked by two bright red and severe looking 'oni' or demons. My husband took a picture of me, while I was sitting on a bench, in front of the demon. We went down to another part of Enoshima where at the seashore many people and birds were gathered for fishing. We continued, and crossed the bridge going to the eastern cave which is dedicated to the dragon or guardian deity of fishermen. After we got out of the cave, we returned to the west part of the island and had our lunch in a log-built-restaurant where many people were in queue. Our waiting was worthwhile. The food was delicious, and we ate raw octopus which was the main delicacy in that restaurant. After being satiated, we went to Enoshima Aquarium, where I saw different kinds of fishes. What I like most from what I saw from the aquarium were the penguins. They were so cute. When we watched Dolphin’s show, I was also overwhelmed as dolphins performed their tricks in front of the audience.

After the show, we bought drinks from a vending machine and watched the people at the beach. As we were taking a rest, my husband received a call from his mother, telling the bad news that his 92-year-old grandmother had just passed away a few minutes ago. I realized after happiness there is always sadness that comes. I cried because we just visited her in the hospital few days earlier. It seemed like she just waited to see me before she died. Even so, I prayed and thanked God for she will have a good rest from her 92 years journey in life.