Enoden Stations : EN15 – Kamakura

The Enoden links Fujisawa & Kamakura via a coastal route that gives both those cities access to the little island of Enoshima – hence the name. It’s a charming, old-fashioned trainline, with some really interesting sights to be seen along the way.

Click this link for more info.

Local Sights

Phew. There is so much to see around Kamakura even if you exclude the big sights back along the Enoden towards Fujisawa…

… but for my money, the really good stuff that isn’t on the Enoden is out towards the north of the city.

Places like Genjiyama Park where you can see a big statue of Minamoto no Yoritomo and then head down to the Zeniarai Benzaiten Shrine; Meigetsuin, an exquisitely peaceful temple; Kenchoji, home to the oldest Zen temple in Kamakura within its sprawling complex, culminating in a hilltop temple populated by statues of tengu; the path out of here takes you onto the Ten-en hiking trail, across the hills and back down towards Kamakura city centre via Zuisenji.

Sadly, none of these are particularly close to the Enoden station in Kamakura so they’ll have to wait for some other day.

On this particular trip, I only went to Kamakura’s main shrine – Tsurugaoka Hachimangu.

All About EN15 Kamakura Station

The main Kamakura Station is a JR station on the Yokosuka line, but tucked away to the rear of that, you can find the terminus of the Enoden line.

The station was moved here in 1949 from just across the street – you can still see the old clock tower of that original station standing there, except it was called Komachi Station back then, named for the area around this part of town.

In fact, the back street that runs up to Hachimangu parallel to the main sando – road approach is called Komachi Street. It’s an interesting touristy kind of a street with restaurants, rickshaw drivers, snacks and knickknacks to be found in abundance.

It’s also full of people, pretty much perpetually. But then, that’s Kamakura for you.

Hachimangu was originally founded way back in 1063, by – surprise, surprise – a Minamoto. Minamoto Yoriyoshi, to be exact. Our old friend Yoritomo moved the shrine to its current location in 1180, and made it much bigger after so doing.

The sando – the road approach – to the shrine once stretched all the way down to Yuigahama, but nowadays most people arrive by train or bus.

The shrine is dedicated to Hachiman, the deified form of Emperor Ojin, who was Emperor way back in the 3rd or 4th century. He’s also the deity who looks after the Yoritomo clan and when he’s not busy with that, he’s the god of war & archery; therefore you can see some great yabusame – horseback archery – displays held at this shrine at various points throughout the year. (Found this video on YouTube if you so desire.)

It’s not just a tourist destination though; you’ll more than likely catch a ceremony if you’re lucky with timing. This was the first time I saw a wedding though:

Oh and make sure you visit the gardens near the entrance – they’re very peaceful, not as busy and you might get lucky and see some interesting wildlife: