Monday, March 22, 2010

Enoshima Island


On Saturday we decided we wanted to go back to Kamakura to see some of the things we missed the first time. Keep in mind there is probably enough to see in the little town of Kamakura to keep a tourist busy for a week straight. It's an absolutely beautiful and amazing town. Our original plans were to take the JR train to Kamakura and then catch another train line (Enoden) to take us in another direction to some other sights. We decided to start at the further away sight we wanted to see and work our way back into Kamakura, this was Enoshima Island. It turned out to take us a lot longer to investigate this sight then we anticipated, but it was beautiful and a lot of fun! It's a little island right off the coastline. There is a bridge that connects the two.

When we got off the train everyone started walking down a little street with markets and food stands on each side. We figured that was probably the way to head! So, we joined the throng. We stopped at a little shop along the way that had adorable jewelery and a bunch of wind chimes that Tom and I both loved (Tom liked the wind chimes, not the jewelry). The majority of Japan operates pretty much on cash system. The only people that I've run across so far that accept credit cards are in the malls. It might be a bit different though in Tokyo. We didn't have enough cash on us to buy the items we wanted in the store. We're going back this weekend for that!

Part of the attraction for me going to the island is the ocean. I love the ocean! I think the ocean is one of the most beautiful things on the earth. It was a windy day, so the waves were incredible. On the island there were street vendors and small stores lining the streets. I finally got to try the sweet potato ice-cream. I have to admit, it was a lot better than I thought it would be but I still liked the mango-apple ice-cream better. Tom preferred the sweet potato version. There were pathways and attractions all over the island. There was also an escalator you could pay additional yen to use if you were too lazy for the stairs everywhere. We toughed it out and walked everywhere.

There were a few places you could pay and enter a special section. We didn't pay to enter any of these areas. There was a lighthouse and a garden that I might look into entering when we go back to the little shop. There were a couple of little shrines to look at around the island. There were also many beautiful walkways. There are several sights around the island where there were beautiful view of the ocean. We really enjoyed our little tour of the island and the train ride that took us there!

3 comments:

Miriam said...

Mango-apple ice cream - oh my! Sounds like a beautiful sightseeing day!

Packrat said...

Love the architecture. Just standing and staring at the buildings could take all day. Thanks for posting pictures.

Katrina, Kyle and Family said...

I didn't even know you guys were in Japan. Darn Primary I never know what is going on. It looks like you are having fun! I love your blog!