Day 7 of University Graduation Trip, Fujisawa on May 6, 2017

Seventh day of our graduation trip in Japan, and my last day in Tokyo.
The plan of the day was to visit Fujisawa and Kamakura, once the capital of Kamakura Shogunate.

Breakfast


Breakfast
Frozen food from convenience store.


The images in this post are hosted on Imgur. Email me should there be any display problems.
Since this is a public post, usual components of graduation trip such as poker games, pillow fights, ghost stories won’t be part of the post.

Since we lived near Shinjuku Station, so for transportation it’s a easy choice of Enoshima Kamakura Pass by Odakyu.
Unfortunately, we played card games late into the night last night, so it was almost noon by the time we woke up today. After finishing a brief breakfast/lunch made of convenience store stuff we headed for the nearby Shinjuku Station.

Streets of Shinjuku


Streets of Shinjuku

I was standing idly in line at Odakyu Travel Agency for quite some time before realizing that I can purchase this pass from the ticket machine. So I rushed through my purchase and through the gates and boarded the train, and it’s less than two minutes till departure by Google Maps.
Only to find that our departure was delayed by three minutes.

Fujisawa Streets


Fujisawa Streets


Katase-Enoshima Station Building


Katase-Enoshima Station Building
In rather Japanese style.

After arriving by train at Katase-Enoshima Station, I decided to visit the nearby Enoshima island first, so that my friends on a later train can join me.
Which was a mistake.I should have taken Enoshima Electric Railway to Fujisawa to visit its temples, which had closing times.

Sakai River


Sakai River

Enoshima Island

Enoshima (江の島) is a small offshore island and tourist destination, about 4 km in circumference and 60 meters in height. Benzaiten as a goddess of music and entertainment was being worshipped on the island. She’s also one of the Seven Gods of Fortune.

Since it’s Japanese Golden Week, there were quite many visitors to Enoshima Island.

Enoshima Island


Enoshima Island


Torii on Benzaiten Avenue


Torii on Benzaiten Avenue
Lots of visitors on that day.


This historic torii made of bronze is Fujisawa’s designated cultural heritage.
Gate to Enoshima Shrine


Gate to Enoshima Shrine

There were escalators on Enoshima Island for those that didn’t want to take the stairs.
Which weren’t many, and most people took the stairs so as to display their sincerity in worshipping the island’s goddess.
And the OCD-infested Japanese people set ticket gates before each of the escalator, with ticket price decreasing as one climbed up the altitude. This kept me in awes.

Torii of Enoshima Shrine and Enoshima Bridge


Torii of Enoshima Shrine and Enoshima Bridge


Pavilion of Enoshima Shrine


Pavilion of Enoshima Shrine


Money-Washing White Dragon


Money-Washing White Dragon
King White Dragon would help you do money-laundering, transforming all your illegal income into the temple’s legal income. (wrong)


Probably because all my income was legal, I threw a one-yen coin at very close distance, and it bounced off.
Pavilion of Enoshima Shrine


Pavilion of Enoshima Shrine


Flowers


Flowers


Fujisawa Harbor

Fujisawa Harbor
Fujisawa Harbor


Entrance to Pavilion of Enoshima Shrine


Entrance to Pavilion of Enoshima Shrine
“イチキシマヒメノミコト” was worshipped here.

Not long after that I was at the top of the island. Probably because it’s Japanese Golden Week, it seemed that all the country’s juggling artists were at work.

Juggling Artist


Juggling Artist


Enoshima Island Observation Deck


Enoshima Island Observation Deck
The weather’s not cooperating, and I couldn’t see Mount Fuji from here.

There were many viewing platforms at the summit of the mountain with views of outer sea. But it was a windy day and there’s no sight of Mount Fuji, so I didn’t stay there for long.

Sea outside Fujisawa


Sea outside Fujisawa


Streets of Enoshima


Streets of Enoshima


Then I paid a brief visit to Enoshimadaishi Temple, a Shingon Buddhism temple with six-meter height Statue of Acala being worshipped.
Stained Glasses in Enoshimadaishi Temple


Stained Glasses in Enoshimadaishi Temple
This borrowed from churches’ stained glasses in the West, and used simple geometry to represent Eastern abstraction.


Palm Reading Machine


Palm Reading Machine
The high labor costs in Japan are driving automation in the industry of fortune telling… amazing.


山二つ


山二つ
This is where the island was divided in half. It’s said that waves eroded the rocks to create this landscape, and lava from Mount Fuji created these layers of earth.


Turtle-Shaped Stone


Turtle-Shaped Stone


Dragon Temple


Dragon Temple

Enoshima Island Rock Temple

Solutional cave from sea erosion, a holy ground for Benzaiten in Edo period.

It’s a downhill trail to reach the Rock Temple (but uphill for the return). I saw it offered candle-lending service and decided to give it a try, envisioning some nice romantic experiences.
The fact was that, the Rock Temple put a strict limit on the number of visitors allowed inside the cave out of stupidity safety, so there were long lines outside the cave. When it’s finally my turn, I found that since it’s Japanese Golden Week, for reasons only known to the management of safety they suspended the candle-lending program.
Which dealt great damage to my morale.

Shores of Enoshima Island

Shores of Enoshima Island
Shores of Enoshima Island


Passage in Enoshima Island Rock Temple

Passage in Enoshima Island Rock Temple
Passage in Enoshima Island Rock Temple


Origin of Enoshima Shrine


Origin of Enoshima Shrine


Poem Plaque in Enoshima Island Rock Temple


Poem Plaque in Enoshima Island Rock Temple


There’s English translation of the poem

Wind from the sea,
The shimmering candle light,
A drop spread,
The cave of Enoshima

Octopus on Display


Octopus on Display
In the passage connecting the first and the second cave there’s this exhibition of local species, among which were this rather relaxed octopus.


Dragon Statue in Enoshima Island Rock Temple


Dragon Statue in Enoshima Island Rock Temple
It’s said that if one claps his hands twice before this dragon and the dragon eye blinks twice, then his wishes would come true. Probably because I didn’t have many wishes in my mind, it blinked only once.


Turtle-Shaped Rock


Turtle-Shaped Rock
Without looking at the nearby information board I thought nobody would notice this rock.

After standing for nearly an hour in line, I visited the entire Enoshima Island Rock Temple in about 20 minutes. After which I joined my friends and walked back to the shores of Fujisawa, planning to take Enoshima Electric Railway next.

Ejima Shrine Okutsumiya


Ejima Shrine Okutsumiya
“タキリビメ” worshipped here.


Cat


Cat
Her highness didn’t bother to attend to the crowds eagerly taking photo of her.


Bridge onto Enoshima Shrine


Bridge onto Enoshima Shrine

Enoshima Electric Railway

Railway connecting Fujisawa and Kamakura, the majority of which were single-track railway. Part of the line was along the coastline (but not as close to ocean as Sri Lanka’s coastal railway I experienced later in July). Nice scenery along the way.

Enoshima Electric Railway Enoshima Station

Enoshima Electric Railway Enoshima Station
Enoshima Electric Railway Enoshima Station

Based on the timetable, my friends and I then rushed from the Island towards the railway station, and found the trains were late.
Oh my God, how could Japanese trains be late…
Then we came to the conclusion that Japanese single-track railways were perpetually late, while dual-track railways were punctual to the second, which was further proven during the rest of our visit.

Jelly Drink


Jelly Drink
This doesn’t taste as nice as the previous Calpis, but anyway it’s jelly drink (and I had been having a hard time finding a vending machine that sold them), so I decided to give it a try.


Enoshima Electric Train Arriving


Enoshima Electric Train Arriving


Enoshima Electric Railway Train Passing through Residential Houses


Enoshima Electric Railway Train Passing through Residential Houses


I had never seen a railway line so close to residential life.

There were posters along Enoshima Electric Railway line that the railway company is hosting a town hall discussing noise from the trains, and its timetable didn’t quite extend into the night by Japanese standards, which must be a compromise of both sides.

Coastal Enoshima Electric Railway

Coastal Enoshima Electric Railway
Coastal Enoshima Electric Railway


Enoshima Electric Railway Passing Each Other


Enoshima Electric Railway Passing Each Other


Enoshima Electric Railway Passing Loop


Enoshima Electric Railway Passing Loop

That afternoon I got off the train early at Hase Station, hoping to visit the giant Buddha Statue of Kōtoku-in Temple before it closed, (I had given up on Hase-dera Temple). Unfortunately I followed Google Maps, which led me to the back door of Kōtoku-in Temple. So it’s just a couple of minutes and I missed the final admission time of Kōtoku-in.
In hindsight, even if I made it into the temple, I won’t be able to see the giant Buddha Statue, which closed earlier than the rest of the temple.

Hase Streets

Hase Streets
Hase Streets


So I headed back to Hasa Station in disappointment and took the next train to Kamakura.
Enoshima Electric Train Arriving


Enoshima Electric Train Arriving


 Toad(蛤)?


Toad(蛤)?


Enoshima Electric Railway Train at Kamakura Station


Enoshima Electric Railway Train at Kamakura Station

After reaching Kamakura and having experienced most of Enoshima Electric Railway, my friends and I had a lengthy discussion about where to had dinner, and settled on a local gourmet restaurant in downtown Kamakura which would be their last proper meal in Japan during our visit.
And in this way we visited the quaint little town of Kamakura.

Clock by Kamakura Station West Exit


Clock by Kamakura Station West Exit
Where we discussed about our dinner.


JR Yokosuka Line Rail


JR Yokosuka Line Rail


Side Dish: Grilling


Side Dish: Grilling


Dinner: Fried Shrimp and Egg with Rice


Dinner: Fried Shrimp and Egg with Rice


Set Dinner by My Friend


Set Dinner by My Friend

Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū

Head of Kamakura Shogunate, the guardian gods of Kamakura warriors were worshipped here.

After dinner, I found that the nearby Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū temple seemed open all day around, so I suggested that we pay it a visit before heading back to Tokyo, helping us digest from overeating.
Visiting haunted temples at night turned out to be an exciting experience to my friends and I.

Passage


Passage


Passage


Passage


Hand Wash


Hand Wash

By the worshipper passage of Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū there’s a public bathroom, which was the dirtiest we’d seen during our visit in Japan. (Janitor: Not my working hour.)
But, that’s also where I found a vending machine that sold the Calpis jelly drink that I so desperately desired. I immediately bought three of them and began my feast.

Dancing Hall

Dancing Hall
Dancing Hall


Entrance to Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū Main Hall


Entrance to Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū Main Hall
Late in the night and it’s closed.


Overlooking Dancing Hall


Overlooking Dancing Hall


Shinto Shrine by Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū


Shinto Shrine by Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū


Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū Main Hall and Stairs


Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū Main Hall and Stairs


Wakamiya Ōji


Wakamiya Ōji
This road leading to Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū has a pedestrian lane in its middle with lights, which was a quite natural extension of sando of Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū.


Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū Torii


Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū Torii


Then we were back at Kamakura Station, ready to take Enoshima Electric Railway back to Fujisawa, and then Odakyu train back to Shinjuku.
Yokohama City Firefighter Enrollment Ad


Yokohama City Firefighter Enrollment Ad
A nation so good at animation that such ads could be painted in animation style.

Kamakurakoko-Mae Crossing

The same railway crossing as in Slam Dunk. It’s just that we arrived in the evening, which was quite different than the scenes in the animation.

Kamakurakoko-Mae Crossing


Kamakurakoko-Mae Crossing


Enoshima Electric Railway Train Passing Kamakurakoko-Mae Crossing

Enoshima Electric Railway Train Passing Kamakurakoko-Mae Crossing
Enoshima Electric Railway Train Passing Kamakurakoko-Mae CrossingEnoshima Electric Railway Train Passing Kamakurakoko-Mae Crossing
Enoshima Electric Railway Train Passing Kamakurakoko-Mae Crossing


Since here Enoshima Electric Railway was still single tracked, so we got off the train, waited for a train in opposite direction to arrive to take these photos, walked back to the station and took the next train to Fujisawa, which didn’t cost us much time.

It’s past 9pm in the evening, so after that we took the train back to Shinjuku.

Odakyu Train at Sagami-Ono Station


Odakyu Train at Sagami-Ono Station
Here Odakyu Line branched into Odawara and Fujisawa Line. As we approached (Rapid Express) approached the station, there’s another train (Express) coming in from Odawara, then passengers interchanged between these two trains on the same platform. Which was quite a sight of Japanese train’s punctuality.


Streets of Shinjuku


Streets of Shinjuku


Second Dinner


Second Dinner
Frozen spaghetti from convenience store, second last one.

END
Reference www.bbkz.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1433928

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