Enoshima Island

Enoshima is a small island off the coast of Kamakura and an easy day trip South of Tokyo. Enoshima Island is known for its legend of a five headed dragon. It is said that Benzaiten, the goddess of good fortune, arts, music and knowledge, subdued a five headed dragon that was terrorising the area. He fell madly in love with her, however, she would only consider his proposal for marriage if he was devoted to protecting the people of the area.

Getting To Enoshima

Traveling to Enoshima is half the fun, there are a number of ways to get here from Tokyo. We’d recommend train to Kamakura, exploring Kamakura for a bit (you won’t have time to do everything so be careful you still leave enough time for Enoshima) and then continuing on to Enoshima on the Enoden train.

The cute green and yellow Enoden train winds on a single narrow track through the towns, very close to buildings and then along the coastline before stopping at Enoshima.

On arriving at Enoshima station, its a short walk towards the ocean through the local streets, follow the signs under the main road and onto the bridge that connects Enoshima Island.

After walking across the bridge onto the island, the path leads you up to the shrine. The path is lined with restaurants and stalls.

After reaching the shrine the path continues further up and then around the island. There is a lot to explore and the island is dotted with restaurants and of course vending machines along the way.

There are quite a number of stairs up to the shrine and the top of the island, however, there are lifts which you can ride at a cost.

The Island has a lot to explore from Olympic yacht racing facilities to shrines and watching the soaring sea eagles as they circle the cliffs.

At the top most point is the Sea Candle a tower that gives a great view of the island and surrounding areas and is a working lighthouse. Entry is ¥500 and includes entry to Samuel Cocking garden. However, you can appreciate the view without visiting the Sea Candle.

On the North West side, the path leads down to the water and to a red railed bridge that winds around the cliff to the Iwaya caves.

The caves tell the love story of the Enoshima dragon and goddess benzaiten. Entry is ¥500 and you will be given a lighted candle to help you see your way through the cave, this adds to the beauty and mystery of the caves and leads you to the end of the cave and the dragon, which unfortunately, was disappointing but I won’t spoil it, you will have to look yourself! It was still definitely worth the visit and the area is well worth exploring.

On this side of the island is a small ferry boat. We decided to catch this back to the bridge rather than walking back up the steep steps and back to the mainland. The boat can be taken in both directions and you will see the drop off/pick up point on the right before you walk over the bridge to Enoshima Island.

Since we were visiting in summer (and it was super hot!) we planned on a swim at the beach while we were here. We had read it was a popular beach, however, we were very disappointed. The waves were small, the water shallow and the sand was black. It was a good way to cool off but did not compare to our beaches back home in Australia.

Local Cuisine

Shirasu is the general term for young, white fish and this is the local delicacy for Enoshima, although of course any seafood is great to try when visiting this coastal area. If you are visiting in summer you MUST stop and have a shaved ice (kakigori).

If the weather is good you can view Mount Fuji as you walk along the bridge (on the right when facing Enoshima Island) or from the viewing platform at the monorail station.

How to get here

There are a number of ways to travel to Enoshima, however, it is worth going to Kamakura and catching the yellow and green Enoden train as it meanders through towns and along the coast line on its way to Enoshima.

On the way back to Tokyo, try catching the monorail to Ofuna station and then change to catch the JR Tokaido Main line or the JR Yokosuka line back to Tokyo. The monorail is suspended under the track and looks impressive from outside, however, it’s not really noticeable from inside.

More information

Japan Guide
Japan National Tourism Office
TimeOut Tokyo: Best things to do in Enoshima

Discount passes

Odakyu trains offer a number of different discount passes on their website. Including Enoden passes or entry to the sea candle on the island. Enoshima and Kamakura passes

Enoden 1 day pass enables you to get on and off where you like.