Tokyo Drifter: Day Trip to Kamakura

Today's post is finishing up the last leg of last month's visit of my friends from Chicago. Unfortunately due to work responsibilities, my friend Valery needed to return to Chicago before the Phonaut, but I wanted to be sure and make the last day of Phonaut's journey a memorable one. I decided to show him around Kamakura (鎌倉)! I went to Kamakura for the first time 10 years ago on my second visit to Japan, and I had such a wonderful time that I wanted to share the experience with my good friend as well.

We got up early and headed off to Kamakura via the Yokosuka Line (横須賀線) from Shinbashi Station (新橋駅) and on to the Enoshima Electric Railway, a.k.a. "Enoden" (江ノ電). The weather was perfect and we enjoyed some fun sightseeing starting with, of course, the Great Buddha (大仏) in Hase (長谷).

Feeling refreshed by the centuries-long meditative peace and tranquillity of Buddha, we headed off to Hase Temple (長谷寺).

After hanging around in Hase for a while longer, it was back to Kamakura city for some shopping and a visit to the Tsurugaoka Hachiman Shrine (鶴岡八幡宮).

Up until now I never had a home to go back to that was not thousands of miles away, so I took advantage of the opportunity to finally buy some of the famous Kamakura Ham. It was every bit a delicious as I'd always imagined! This seems sort of crazy, actually, because predictable answers to the question, "where is the most delicious ham you've ever eaten?" might be Germany, Poland, etc, but no-- Kamakura, Japan is the answer! 

Tired from a long day of exploration, we rode the Green Car (first class) back to Tokyo, enjoying a cold Kamakura Pale Ale while  making the return trip to Tokyo. A relaxing evening was all that was in store for us that night, and I'd have to say it was a great day!!

The rest of the photo's from the trip can be viewed here.

Enoshima / 江ノ島, part 3

Go back to Enoshima / 江ノ島, part 2
The climb back up to the top of the island was a bit more challenging than the first time around. Despite being located in the Kantō region, Enoshima is quite a ways south of Tokyo, and it was getting hot outside. On top of that, I was getting hungry and thirsty. I stopped for another short rest in the gardens at the summit before continuing my journey.

While making my descent, I had one thing on my mind: ice cream! I was certainly not disappointed. I found a charming cafeteria called Enoshima Café, and their specialty is Enoshima coffee softserve (江ノ島珈琲ソフト)! I found a shaded table in the outdoor seating area and enjoyed the creamy frozen deliciousness while taking in the sights and doing a little people-watching.

Soon afterward I was ready for something a bit more substantial, so I headed for the beachside boardwalk. After doing a little shopping for some souvenirs to bring back home, I grabbed a table at a vendor who was making freshly grilled shellfish. I happen to be a real sucker for fresh clams (はまぐり / Hamaguri), and when I saw them I could not hold back despite their crazy price tag (¥1600 / $16 per serving [2 clams]). I also ordered a bottle of the local microbrew, Enoshima Beer, to go with them.

The Hamaguri were amazing!! They were freshest I've ever eaten (caught just several hours prior) and were plump, juicy and chewy yet tender, just they way the finest shellfish should be. 2 clams might not sound filling, but I was surprised to find myself feeling quite full. The beer was also wonderful-- like a full-bodied summer ale. I subsequently came to learn that Enoshima Beer won a special award in Japan's national craft beer championship.

Feeling content and happy, I decided it was time to head for the beach, taking the rest of my beer with me. I took off my shoes, rolled up my slacks, and enjoyed the long overdue feeling of the sand and sea on my feet. The chilly ocean water, the sound of the waves, the sight of children picking up seashells and the oceanfront views surrounded me. As I drank down the last few sips of my beer, I realized that this had really been a fantastic day!

I leisurely strolled around for a while longer, making sure to enjoy my time to the fullest. Finally, it started to get dark outside, so I figured it was time to get on the Enoden (short for 江ノ島電鉄線 / Enoshima Dentetsusen / Enoshima Railway) and start heading back home to Tokyo feeling relaxed, refreshed and elated.

Enoshima / 江ノ島, part 2

Enoshima Shrine / 江島神社

Go back to Enoshima / 江ノ島, part 1
Enoshima Shrine is a Shinto shrine devoted to the goddess Benzaiten (弁財天), whom to many of my readers will be more recognizable by her Hindu name, Saraswati.

Ok, so right now some of you are thinking, "Wait, what?? Saraswati? Shinto!?" Looking from an ancient historical perspective, it's actually not so super-shocking. Benzaiten has held a very special role in spirituality throughout much of Asia ever since she was first introduced to the world ma-a-any centuries ago by priests from India. The goddess Benzaiten is the source of all that flows: music, words, water, etc., and so she fits in perfectly here, in the little island of Enoshima, where goodness seems to flow in abundance northward to the mainland.

In the cover photo at the top, the stairs leading up to the main gate of the shrine are looking pretty steep, but this is only the beginning. What you see there is the main building of the shrine. To see all of it, you must climb, and climb, and then climb some more, until you reach you traverse many staircases like this one, finally reaching the summit of the large hill (tiny mountain?) that is Enoshima. To be honest, it's a bit exhausting, but there are many other smaller shrines to see along the way, as well as shops, restaurants and bars to help you re-fuel.

As it turns out, the journey to the top is worth the effort. The ocean views from the gardens at the highest point of elevation are very beautiful. On a clear day, I understand, one can even see Mt. Fuji! I was hoping for a look myself, but the air was quite hazy during my visit. Once at the top, I hung out for quite a while, taking in the scenery.

I wasn't sure if I wanted to make the descent to the far side of the island, down to the rock beach below since I knew that the only way back was to go up over and down again. After a rest, however, I decided I was up for it and headed down. I was glad I made the descent after seeing some very unusual rock formations that I had never seen before! These deep openings in the rock have filled up with sea water, creating tiny seas that seem to contain their own unique ecosystems! Most of them are rich with ocean plant life and some of them have fish living in them!

This was really very cool and they're definitely unlike anything else I've seen before. The oceanfront views from here were just as inspiring as the others I saw throughout the day, but offered something different, so I stayed for a while for some photography.

After some more hanging out, I decided it was time to head back for something to eat and started my climb back to the top. The next part of my adventure happens in part three!