A little of each town’s story
The bronze torii and Zuishinmon gate of Enoshima Shrine
Enoshima Shrine consists of three shrines, Hetsumiya, Nakatsumiya and Okutsumiya, and is counted among Japan's three great Benzaiten shrines. The bronze torii that greets you after crossing the Enoshima Benten Bridge was first erected in 1747, at the height of pilgrimages to the island, and the present one dates from a rebuilding in 1821. Up the stone steps, beyond the vermilion torii, stands Zuishinmon, a tower gate modeled on the Dragon Palace.
2-3-8 Enoshima, Fujisawa, Kanagawa
Sources: tabi-mag.jp gltjp.com
This moment in the journey
To Enoshima
If you are in Kamakura, you should also visit Enoshima. At the crossing a surfer with his board waited for the light, and scooters sped along the shore road. Beyond the beach, the island rose like a green mound.
Across the bridge and onto the island. Past a narrow alley, a bronze torii stands at the entrance to the approach. Up the stone steps, a vermilion torii and a gate like the Dragon Palace came into view.
Watch this scene on YouTube3:43
More notes from this journey
Kamakura, Kanagawa
Kenchin-jiru
A soup of root vegetables and tofu, sautéed in oil before simmering.
From: A Kamakura-vegetable breakfast and a walk on Enoshima
Kamakura, Kanagawa
Kamakura morning set with grilled dried fish
Kenchin-jiru made with Kamakura vegetables, with dried fish from the market shop grilled alongside.
From: A Kamakura-vegetable breakfast and a walk on Enoshima
Kamakura, Kanagawa
Kamakura-Kokomae Station and the seaside crossing
Kamakura-Kokomae, on the Enoshima Electric Railway, is a station right beside the sea.
From: A Kamakura-vegetable breakfast and a walk on Enoshima
Kamakura, Kanagawa
Kamakura vegetables
A collective name for vegetables grown by farmers around Kamakura.
From: A Kamakura-vegetable breakfast and a walk on Enoshima
Kamakura, Kanagawa
Enoshima-don
Enoshima's signature rice bowl: turban shell simmered in egg and served over rice, offered at many of the island's restaurants.
From: A Kamakura-vegetable breakfast and a walk on Enoshima
Kamakura, Kanagawa
Kamakura Agricultural Cooperative Market (Rembai)
A farmers' market run by growers from Kamakura and nearby, started in 1928 and said to be Japan's first marché.
From: A Kamakura-vegetable breakfast and a walk on Enoshima
More notes from Kanto
Kamogawa, Chiba
Namero on rice
Namero is a Chiba specialty handed down along the coast of the Boso Peninsula.
From: Zero minutes to the sea: summer vacation in Kamogawa
Kamogawa, Chiba
Sauce yakisoba
A staple of summer festival stalls.
From: Zero minutes to the sea: summer vacation in Kamogawa
Kamogawa, Chiba
Grilled seafood skewers
The taste of the festival stall, on a small charcoal grill on the veranda.
From: Zero minutes to the sea: summer vacation in Kamogawa
Kamakura, Kanagawa
A little Kamakura drinking set
At the farmers' market near Kamakura Station, growers from around Kamakura sell "Kamakura vegetables," many varieties in small quantities, grown with as little…
From: A hundred-year-old house in the town of the Enoden
Chuo, Tokyo
A shitamachi breakfast: grilled salmon and tofu miso soup
Tsukudani was born in neighboring Tsukuda.
From: A downtown table in a Tokyo row house
Chuo, Tokyo
Omurice
One story has it that omurice was born in the mid-1920s at a Western-style restaurant in Osaka, where the owner wrapped ketchup rice in a thin omelet for a regu…
From: A downtown table in a Tokyo row house