How to Spend a Perfect Day in Enoshima with Travel Map

Itinerary Map

Click the square mark on the top left of the map to see a list of tourist spots. If you open the enlarge button on the top right corner on your smartphone, this model course will be displayed on Google Maps along with its location information. You can also quickly return to this map from the table of contents in the sidebar (if using a smartphone, select “Go to table of contents” from the menu at the bottom of the screen).

【Enlarged view】

【Start】

①Enoshima Station

Here we are introducing the Enoshima Electric Railway, but you can get to Enoshima from the following three stations.

・Enoshima Electric Railway : Enoshima Station

・Shonan Monorail : Shonan Enoshima Station

・Odakyu Enoshima Line : Katase Enoshima Station

Katase Enoshima Station is the closest, and the station itself resembles Dragon Palace.

★Route time required：20 min

Go straight along the street in front of the station and cross the bridge to reach Enoshima. Continue on to Nakamise-dori, where you will find many souvenir shops. Continue on and you will reach the shrine.

Enoshima Escalators

Enoshima has many uphill roads, so there are three escalators called Enoshima Escalators. The first one is on the left hand side after passing through Nakamise Street and seeing the torii gate. The locations and prices are as follows:

A ticket for all sections costs 360 yen, and the escalator is for going up only. Enoshima Electric Railway built tourist spots such as Enoshima Sea Candle at the top, but people didn’t come to use the stairs, so this was built. Incidentally, this is the first outdoor escalator in Japan, and although there was opposition from local residents at first, they agreed to make it a tunnel type. This allows you to watch videos with a sea theme in Section 1.

②Enoshima Shrine – Hetsumiya

Time required : 30 min

Admission fee：0 yen

Opening hour：8h30 am – 5 pm

Close：No

Enoshima Shrine, one of the three major Benzaiten shrines in Japan, consists of three shrines: Hetsumiya, Nakatsumiya, and Okutsumiya, and each shrine enshrines one of the three Munakata goddesses who are responsible for the safety of voyages. Hetsumiya is also called Shimomiya, and enshrines Tagitsuhime-no-mikoto, the third daughter of the three Munakata goddesses.

In addition, the Hoanden shrine in the shrine grounds enshrines two Benzaiten: Yatabi-Benzaiten, the goddess of victory who was donated by Minamoto no Yoritomo, and Myo-on Benzaiten, the goddess of music and entertainment who is one of the three major Benzaiten shrines in Japan.

You can also improve your financial luck by purifying your money at Zeniarai Hakuryu-o. The sacred ginkgo tree is known as a power spot for matchmaking because its two trunks are connected by a single root, and is surrounded by pink votive plaques.

The Origins of Ejima

Before enshrining the Three Munakata Goddesses, Enoshima Shrine enshrined Benzaiten. Benzaiten has a deep connection to the legend of the birth of Enoshima, the Ejima Engi.

Once upon a time, a five-headed dragon was causing trouble in Kamakura. After the heavens and earth shook violently in 352, Benzaiten, a celestial maiden, descended and created the island. The dragon fell in love with the celestial maiden at first sight and proposed marriage to her, but was turned down due to his evil deeds. However, the dragon did not give up, and they swore to do good deeds and not bad deeds from now on, and they were married.

The fifteen children Benzaiten brought with her when she descended from the heavens are also enshrined in the Hoanden of Hetsumiya.

★Route time required：10 min

When you leave the shrine, you will come to Nakatsumiya Park, so go right. Follow the road and go up the stairs until you see Nakatsumiya. There is also a second Enoshima Escar inside the park.

③Enoshima Shrine – Nakatsumiya

Time required : 15 min

Admission fee：0 yen

Opening hour：8h30 am – 5 pm

Close：No

The second Enoshima Shrine, called Kaminomiya as well, enshrines Ichikishimahime-no-mikoto, the second daughter of the Munakata Three Goddesses. It was first built by Jikaku Daishi in 853, and the main hall and other shrine buildings were rebuilt by the fifth shogun, Tokugawa Tsunayoshi in 1689. It is also known for its prayers for beautiful women, and has unique items such as greedy beauty ema plaques and amulets.

★Route time required：5 min

After leaving Nakatsumiya Shrine, continue along the road and climb the stairs to reach the top. Along the way, you will come across the third Enoshima Escar. Once you reach the top, there will be a gate on your right, so continue past it.

④Enoshima Samuel Cocking Garden

Time required : 20 min

Admission fee：0 yen
(450 yen after 5 pm during events)

Opening hour：9 am – 8 pm

Close：No

This garden is located at the top of Enoshima. It was built by British trader Samuel Cocking during the Meiji period and is built on a brick foundation. It contains plants he brought to the garden, and at the time had the largest greenhouse in the Orient, but it is now a museum about him. There are also cafes and shops, and you can see Kamakura.

★Route time required：a few minutes

Go to the tower in the garden.

⑤Enoshima Sea Candle

Time required : 15 min

Admission fee：500 yen

Opening hour：9 am – 8 pm

Close：No

It is a 59.8m tall tower that symbolizes Enoshima. If you go to the observation deck, you can get a panoramic view from 41.75m above sea level.

★Route time required：10 min

After leaving the garden, turn right and then turn right again to reach a narrow staircase leading down. Continue straight and you will enter a street lined with restaurants and other shops. Continue straight and you will see the shrine in front of you.

⑥Enoshima Shrine – Okutsumiya

Time required : 15 min

Admission fee：0 yen

Opening hour：8h30 am – 5 pm

Close：No

This is the main shrine of Enoshima Shrine and enshrines Tagirihime-no-mikoto, the eldest daughter of the three Munakata goddesses. Iwaya, the birthplace of Enoshima Shrine, which we will visit later, was once a place where the deity was moved from April to October because seawater would get in during August. If you look into the ceiling of the worship hall, you can see a picture of a turtle. This is a turtle that looks like it is glaring at you from any angle, painted by an Edo period artist.

Next to it is Wadatsumi-no-miya, named after the dragon that appears in the Ejima Engi legend, and it is located directly above Iwaya-no-Miya.

★Route time required：15 min

Continue along the path and you will come to a rock formation. Continue further and you will reach a cave.

⑦Enoshima Iwaya Cave

Time required : 30 min

Admission fee：500 yen

Opening hour：9 am – 5 pm

Close：No

This cave was formed by wave erosion, and Benzaiten of Enoshima Shrine was originally enshrined here.

There are two main caves, and in the First Cave (152m) you receive a candle and have an adventurous experience as you make your way through the darkness. At the back is a rock formed naturally by the force of the waves, which looks like Nichiren Shonin, who trained here, sleeping on it. There is also an ice cave that is said to lead to the foot of Mount Fuji.

Once outside, on the way to the Second Cave you will come across Kameiwa, which resembles a turtle. A beautiful lantern lights the way at the Second Cave (56m), and at the back is a dragon statue. If you make a sound in front of the dragon something will happen, but that’s a surprise for you to discover.

★Route time required：10 min

After leaving the cave, go back along the path and when you leave the rocky area, instead of going up the stairs, go down the stairs and follow the rocky path to reach the pier.

⑧Bentenmaru (Ferryboat)

Time required : 10 min

Admission fee：400 yen

Opening hour：11 am – 3 pm

Close : Weekdays December – February, and in bad weather

This boat will take you from the rocks to the other side of the bridge. If you board this boat, you can enjoy the scenery while you return in a short time.

★Route time required：10 min

Once you get off the boat, return to the station the way you came.

【Goal】

Enoshima Station

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