Enoshima / 江ノ島, part 1

The week before last I used some time off from work for taking a day trip to Enoshima (江ノ島). Enoshima is tiny island which is part of Fujisawa city (藤沢市) in the Kantō region's southern prefecture, Kanagawa (神奈川県). The characters comprising the name "Enoshima" mean Island of the Bay, which is an accurate description since visitors can only access Enoshima by crossing a bridge over the Sagami Bay (相模湾) either by car or on foot.

Enoshima does an excellent job of providing a relaxing island resort atmosphere despite her relatively close proximity to Tokyo (roughly 1.45 hours by rail). This makes for a very popular getaway of course, and for this reason I highly recommend going there on a weekday like I did.

Like most destinations in a Japan, a main attraction for visitors is the local cuisine. One of my main objectives in going there was diving into a Shirasu-don (しらす丼) which is famous throughout the Sagami Bay coastal region of Kanagawa (known as Shōnan / 湘南). "Don" (pronounced so that it rhymes with "dome") is short for "donburi" (丼), which simply means bowl of rice with a topping of some kind. In this case the topping is Shirasu (しらす), which simply means baby fish. These little fishies are somewhat uncommon where I currently live (and all but non-existent where I grew up), especially in their uncooked form which is a major draw for foodies who come to Enoshima for a visit. Since I had arrived right at lunch time, sitting down to a Shirasu-don lunch was my first priority. I found a pleasant oceanside restaurant called Shōnan Hanabi Shokudō (湘南HANABI食堂) and got myself a table.

So how do they taste? Well, this is certainly not my first time eating Shirasu; I've been a fan for quite a long time. This is only my second time, however, enjoying raw Shirasu. Shirasu have a mildly briny, oceanic taste, which is accompanied by a very lovely clean, fresh and slightly sweet flavor. This particular donburi is called 3-color don (三色丼 / San shoku don). The three colors are raw Shirasu, kettle-cooked Shirasu and seasoned kettle-cooked Shirasu. (Readers: don't let "kettle-cooked" fool you into thinking about Kettle Chips or anything like that, these are not fried-- they're blanched). Also gently resting upon my bowl of rice was tororo (とろろ), nori (海苔 / dry seaweed, like the wrapping on your favourite sushi roll), green onion, and a raw egg. My Shirasu-don was accompanied by a bowl of miso soup, some pickled daikon and a lump of freshly-grated wasabi for enhancing the flavour of my Shirasu. This was soooo delicious and was exactly what I had been wanting to eat! I enjoyed and cherished every single bite of my lunch, showering the restaurant staff with compliments all the while.

With a full, and very satisfied tummy, it was time to go be a tourist. See what happened next in part 2!

Before finishing Enoshima Part 1, one word of warning to potential visitors, when Shirasu are in season (spring), they sell out fast! I would be a mistake to expect to have Shirasu-don for dinner since they're caught fresh every day, and supplies rarely cover the lunchtime rush.

Tokyo Tower Carp Streamer Display / 東京タワー鯉のぼり

 

Carp Streamers, or Koi Nobori (鯉のぼり), have a long history in Japan and is a tradition which has roots even older than that in ancient China. Images of Koi (Carp) are painted on wind socks and, in Japan, are hung up to fly in the wind in celebration of Children's Day. Children's Day is officially celebrated each year on May 5, and the tradition of families decorating their homes with Carp Streamers is the boys' counterpart to the annual girls' holiday, Hinamatsuri / ひな祭り.

Each Carp Streamer hung at a family home represents each of the family's individual sons. If tradition is adhered to strictly, the colours of the Carp are also representative of the sons' birth order. In ancient China, Carp were believed to grow up to be dragons. Because of this famous legend, the streamers bring good fortune, health and longevity to the family's sons, so even into modern times, these bright and cheerful decorations can be seen all over Japan during early May.

The Carp Streamers displayed at Tokyo Tower serve a different purpose. During the first week of May, Tokyo Tower celebrates Children's day by display 333 Carp Streamers-- one for each of its 333 meter height! On a sunny day it's really fun to go see!

Of course, a visit to Tokyo Tower isn't complete without taking a nice rest in the adjacent Shiba Park (芝公園 / Shiba Kōen) which also has lovely views of the tower and rich greenery.

Nezu Shrine Azalea Festival / 根津神社つつじ祭

The last week of April I set out into my neighborhood and headed over to one of my most favourite places-- Nezu Shrine. During the end of April and beginning of May, the shrine's annual Azalea (つつじ / Tsutsuji) Festival is held and it's always a spectacular sight! Nezu Shrine's extensive gardens are planted with over 6,600 square meters of azaleas which include over 100 different varieties, some of which are quite rare.

Some of the azaleas on display are extremely unique with shapes and colours I have never seen anywhere else before.

So why azaleas? Firstly, no one could argue that they're beautiful, of course, but besides that, the azalea is the official flower of Bunkyo City (文京区 / Bunkyō-ku) in which Nezu (根津) and Nezu Shrine are located.

The shrine, of course, has a beauty and wonder all its own at all times of the year, so natually it makes a truly lovely background in which both visitors and regulars can enjoy the gorgeous flora.

Hanami / 花見 2014

Hello Readers! Wow-- it's been a ridiculously long time since I added fresh content. Please accept my apologies. As if that's not bad enough I'm resuming my updates with content that's already a couple of months old. I apologize for that, too, but this year's Hanami was quite lovely so I don't want to just forget about it. After all, it's still springtime in Tokyo-- here we are now into the third month of beautiful spring weather!

This year, Ueno Park was the chosen Hanami spot. There are many, many famous spots to enjoy Hanami in Tokyo, but this is such a personal favourite that it's hard to resist, not to mention it's a reasonably short walk from home. These kitties were super popular with Ueno Park Hanami-goers!

Hanami is not just for the daytime! Most places are very pleasant and beautiful at night too!

Here's a photo marking the end of this year's Hanami season. This was taken on a rainy day after a blossom was blown onto our veranda from our neighbor's tree (yes we get to see a lovely display of cherry blossoms from our home as well!).