Go Venture Beyond.blog

With it’s vast and intricate rail network, it’s easy to get away from the hustle and bustle of Tokyo to the several scenic locations dotted close by. Jump onto the Yokosuka Line from Tokyo, and in an hour or so, you’ll find yourself at one of the most beautiful places in Japan, Kamakura.

With the convenience of the many IC cards in Japan, all you need to do is top up some yen, and you can be on your way, no need to buy a ticket! We caught the train from Shimbashi Station, with the ride down to the coast costing just under 1000 yen, which isn’t much at all considering the distance you travel.

The town of Kamakura is best explored by riding of the wonderfully vintage trains on the Enoden Line. The cosy charming green trains take a brilliant route through the narrow streets and onto a majestic coastal journey along Sagami Bay. The best way to explore the line is with a day pass, which can be purchased at Kamakura Station from the self service machine close by the entrance to the line, you can buy a day pass for 800 yen, and simply hop on and off the trains along the many stops on the route, and with a train almost every 15 minutes, you can explore to all your leisure.

The line itself goes all the way to the neighbouring town of Fujiwara, but we didn’t take it all the way there, instead we got off at Enoshima, and slowly worked our way back to the beginning. Each station has its own unique look, Enoshima was one of the larger stations, with a cute gift store alongside it. But some of the other smaller stops, can be unmanned.

The urban parts of the route snakes between narrow streets and shops, and if you stand behind the conductor, you can get a great shot of the train burrowing its way through. We walked between stops, then jumping back on the passing train to move down a few more stops. The biggest highlight of Kamakura, and where most people will be going down to the coast for, is the simply stunning rail crossing along the coast, and Kamakurakokomae Station is the stop to be at! The journey along the seaside is a sight to behold, and if you’re familiar with the works of Studio Ghibli, you will certainly have a striking resemblance to a certain scene from Spirited Away!

This location is very prominently featured in Japanese pop culture, with this idyllic crossing appearing in anime, dramas and other forms of media. With the pretty green train passing along the bright blue sea. You can be sure there will be many people around this spot. But walk up the road just a little bit, to get a clearer view, with a lot less foot traffic!

Hopping back onto the train, we headed towards probably the most quaint stop along the route, Gokurakuji Station is an intimate station, up in the hills, but nestled amongst the trees, its certainly one of the most memorable along the the line, and with its position on the route, the number of people are far less than down by the coast.

The area around here is far more steep, so you’ll get a nice workout if you decide to stroll around this part of town. Though on a lovely sunny day, the hike through here is great. It’s far more reclusive in this vicinity, so you can enjoy the calm, we passed a charming souvenir store around here, so I picked up a few postcards while passing by.

As lunch approached, and checking the options on google maps, there appeared to be a cluster of options down back by the coast, so we worked our way back down. Deciding to check out a Thai restaurant, which had a beautiful view out onto the beach from its 2nd floor location. A perfect spot to enjoy some Pad Thai and gaze out into the endless blue.

As the afternoon came to a close, we walked to the closest station, which was Hase, unlike the previous stop, this was in a busy town crossing, with a fair number of visitors on the platform. The day pass is a great option, which allowed us to have the freedom to explore, and hop on at various points. Even though we spent about half a day, we still got to see a fair portion of this absolutely magical destination. One final perk, was the fact the train line running back up to Tokyo, featured the city of Yokohama half way through, which was our next stop!