Enoshima

 Our last day with the Yamanas, Noriko-san showed us around their neighborhood in Kamakura! Kamakura is the ancient capital of Japan. One of my most favorite places to have visited there. Absolutely amazing. Temples, shrines everywhere. It was my favorite day from our last trip to Japan way back in 2012 when Cosette was a one and I was younger. 

 The Yamanas thought it would be nice to take us to Enoshima. Enoshima is an island off the coast of Kamakura. Super close to the mainland. There is a foot bridge that we walked over to get to. It is a really small island that is basically a mountain. We got a lot view of Fuji-san! Not sure if I will ever make it to Mount Fuji, but I have seen it! That was a highlight for sure. 

 Enoshima is home to the beautiful Enoshima Shrine. The whole path up to it was lined with shops and areas for the hot springs, which is another thing Enoshima is known for. Unfortunately did not have time for that. Once we got to the bottom of the Shrine's stairs I felt like Gus Gus from Cinderella a bit. Those stairs went on and on and on for a while. No sign of the top from the bottom. Walking up the stairs is part of the journey, and we made it. This shrine honors the Benzaiten, the Buddhist goddess of music. The shrines are just incredible. It does not matter how many I have gone to, I am just constantly in awe of them. 

 We continued up the mountain, this time by escalator. At the top of the mountain there are the Samuel Cocking Gardens and the Sea Candle light house which gives you stunning views of everything. The view was beautiful. The gardens were filled with tulips and I wished we could have stayed till dark because their was a light festival going on for the new year at that time. We still have a couple more things on our agenda and had to get back to Yokohama that night, so not possible. 

It was a cloudy day, but you can get a glimpse of Mount Fuji through there. 

The old man and the sea.


There were Black Kites almost swarming the area as we walked over to Enoshima. It was crazy how many of them there were and how low they flew, like they almost hit some people in the head. 



My favorite part was running into this Hello Kitty theme store and cafe. I love Hello Kitty and would totally have a giant Hello Kitty stuffed animal taking up space in my apartment. 

Sisters and Hello Kitties!

Tanuki. 

Feeling like Gus Gus. 






All hail the great stone dragon (behind me). 







Coastline heart eyes for days. 

Mount Fuji!


 When in Kamakura, go visit the Big Buddha. One of the coolest and biggest Buddhas in Japan. It is beautiful and I love it. We made it in the nick of time before the sun set. The sun sets dreadfully early in the winter, like in the UK. We had to get all our sightseeing in before 4pm everyday and we made it to see the Buddha at twilight. There is a pedestal in the front of the Buddha for people to place offerings, I cannot remember if anyone had left and offering when we were there. Last time with Lyndon, someone had left a watermelon which was a big deal because Japanese watermelon are just really special. I don't remember why, but I thought it was sweet that someone left a watermelon for the Buddha. 

Try and fill them shoes. 

Inside Buddha's belly.



A jumping pic for good measure. I am sad that Ellen did not get to see more of the beauty that Kamakura holds. It is such an incredible place. I could go on and on about it. Till we meet again Kamakura. 

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