Enoshima Island is just a little way from the mainland, accessible via pedestrian and auto bridges. It is famous for its Shinto shrines, its caves, and its lighthouse. Here we are just starting to walk over.
As you can see, the weather wasn't great. There were some slight drizzles off and on through the day, but mostly it was ok.
A narrow street of shops leads up to the shrine. Most of the stuff was pretty tacky tourist stuff that looked the same as tacky tourist stuff from anywhere else. The second picture is partly up the road.
At the top of the street you come to the first of many stairways you need to climb.
After climbing the stairs you found this sign showing how much further you had to go, and this statue of Benzaiten, the goddess of music and entertainment. The entire island is dedicated to her.
There were lots of cats on the island. Some made themselves available for petting while others just wanted to look at the flowers.
A little further up we came to the first shrine. Outside was the 手水舎 (temizuya), the purification font where you wash your hands and mouth before proceeding. The second picture shows the view back towards the causeway from this level.
The first shrine I assume had something to do with money, based upon the big bag, and that across from it was a pond where people wash their money in the small baskets provided.
Skipping forward a bit, we made it to the top of the island and some of us climbed the lighthouse. Here's a picture showing how high up we were.
Down the other side were more shines, including this tiny one with an impressive dragon entrance. According to the legend, the island was created as a result of the goddess Benzaiten taming a dragon that was besieging the area. I'm guessing that this is the dragon.
Down on the ocean side of the island is a network of caves that were hollowed out by the waves. They were decorated and they gave you little candles on boards to carry along for light.
The shore here made me a little bit homesick...it reminded me a lot of the California coast.
Afterwards we stopped for lunch on the island for lunch at a restaurant featuring local seafood. Here's Louis (from France), Lauren (from Boston), Carlos (from Mexico), and my lunch (grilled local squid). It was delicious.
Afterwards we walked back to the mainland (taking a peripheral path that didn't involve climbing all the way back to the top) and went on to Kamakura. This post is getting long, so I'll break off here and start another.
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