Of stars, dragons and blue skies 2 of 2

Sunday arose equally sunny which cheered me greatly as we were off to the beach! We said goodbye to our new friends, who offered to walk us to the train station but their kindness was already too much, then we were off to Enoshima, a little island just off the coast of Kamakura. It was glorious! With the palms trees and stretches of sparkling sand it was so easy to forget we were in Japan and start imagining we were in Hawaii! (In fact later on in the day there was a Hawaiian festival.) There is a causeway that stretches from the mainland to the little island but first we had to take a monorail to get there, it was awesome!

Once on the island we weren’t sure where to go first but a torii gate seemed to want us to head to the center of the island where up among the trees we saw a shrine. We walked along a narrow alley with beach shops lining either side which offered everything from Enoshima Hello kitties to steamed cuttlefish and ice cream to dried squid and assorted touristy merchandise. It was a little slope upwards to reach the base of the shrine, but we were just in time to hear bells and taiko drums coming towards us. We had to stand off to the side in a little shop as a parade of portable shrines went by to the sound of the drums and flutes and chanting of the monks. It was an amazing moment as this bright gold shrine went by adorned by a phoenix whose wings fluttered every time the bearers of the magnificent float danced a few steps. The bearers lined four poles underneath it and jumped two feet forward and one foot back in time to the beat in such synchronized timing that I feared what would happen if even one of them missed a step. With the sun streaming through the leaves and the back drop of the ocean and bright blue sky it was yet another moment of magic that captivates me in this foreign world.

After the parade had passed we continued to work our way up the shrine along a path that winded up through the trees in a series of stairs. It was like walking up a water fall and every so often finding a pool of crystal clear water where another piece to the shrine was built. The first level had the main gate and a statue depicting famous deities to the area. The next ‘pool’ had a purifying dragon to wash ourselves. The third level was the biggest shrine buildings where we prayed and bought a few charms and washed our money in a lucky spring in order to double our wealth! There was also another ring to figure eight through and a ceremony happening within the main hall. When I prayed, all I said was thanks. What more could I ask for? We stopped a moment on our way further up to gaze out at the ocean and Kamakura and the sailboats riding the waves then it was up more steps to another ‘pool’ where a third shrine had collected. This one had an even more amazing view from the island before we continued on.

 At last we reached the top where there is a lookout tower but we were already admiring the beauty the way nature intended us to and besides why spend money on a tower when you can watch the ocean surrounded by flowers? We crested the hill and began hiking down the other side where another segment of the shrine was laid out. This time it was for the ancient legend of the island.

At one point, a dragon inhabited the island that caused a rift between Heaven and Earth and the skies and ocean were always in turmoil. He created chaos and lived in the caves beneath the island. But a goddess descended from Heaven, captivated him and tried to stop the evil he was causing. As a result he fell in love with her and proposed to her. She refused based on his evil actions (and he was errr a dragon?) but after he repented she agreed. As a result the island is known for its worship of the goddess, Benzaiten who is enshrined on the island, and the dragon Ryukomyojin and also for its myths of love. There was a love bell that overlooked the sea that one rings for prayers of love and a little cave shrine dedicated to the dragon.

 
Once past this part of the island it was all downhill to the crashing caves along these rocky cliffs and tidal pools along the rocks. It was gorgeous (but really what isn’t that I write about?) We wanted to swim but we first wanted to explore the caves. The first of two has remains of ancient deity statues and a little pool with gold fish swimming around dragon statues. The second was the dragon’s cave and a really cool statue could be found within. Along the cliffs connecting the two sea caves was a board walk and from it one can look for a turtle shaped rock that was carved from the tides.

Finally it was swimming time! There was a part in the rocks that had been cemented off to create a nice little swimming pool but a big wave could still make it over, and that is where I made friends with my fan club. The amazing diving Canadian! I like to call myself, for it I was the only gaijin on this side of the island and one of two girls actually swimming. I impressed all the Japanese by courageously flinging myself off the cliffs and into the water and they kept shouting for me to go again! Even later as I was toweling off to explore the little pools people were coming up to tell me I do nice dives! XD. It was a lot of fun and a great way to make friends with the locals!

We could have spent hours on the rocks but instead we wanted to head back to the sand beaches on the mainland and see what else was left to explore. We could have gone up and over like we had before, but that wasn’t good enough for me so we decided to go around the coast of the island. Of course, what I didn’t realize until it was too late was that by doing this we were hiking the island Indiana Jones style! You may think I’m exaggerating as I have no pictures to prove it, but I led us on one wild adventure. I couldn’t take pictures because I kept my camera safely strapped in my bag lest it fall down the rock cliffs where we swung on ropes! At first it looked like a nice gentle way until I saw crabs scuttling into the beach forest the size of my hands and searoaches that were disgusting and crawled about everywhere. And we literally had to use these ropes fastened to the trees no less than ten times to swing over part of the ocean or climb up rock walls. It really is a wonder I didn’t kill us both (for we all know whose idea this must have been) and we were only in flip flops!

After we’d made it safely to flat land it was time for some treats to tide us over and calm our shaky nerves from the near death experience in the jungle and to go and watch a Hawaii festival and see hula dancing. It was nice but not quite as cool as the energetic dancing from the day before. As the day got on, we returned to the mainland and dropped our stuff on the nice relaxing beach and threw ourselves to the surf again where it was time for some gentle swimming and nothing like our adventures earlier in the day! The water was so warm and lovely and we swam all the way out as far as we could go until the coast guard came to check on us XD so we swam back floated belly up until we saw the sun was beginning to set and the five o’clock song sounded and we got the hint that home was still a long way off.

We finished the day with a pretend shower in the bathroom sinks and dinner at a family restaurant. Then it was a long train ride home in the air conditioning, half shivering from our sunburns!

Well, it seems summer is officially here which means only a week and a half more of school and then natsuyasumi! Here is a preview of what’s to come: This weekend, climbing Mt. Fuji in the night for the sunrise, and yet another festival except this time in Saruhashi! Next weekend, Sendai to see one of Japan’s three great views (one of which I went to with Nikki last time) and to see the epicenter for ourselves. Then Ise peninsula, the site of Japan’s most sacred shrine. Shikoku, another of Japan’s four main islands (I live on Honshu, the biggest island.) After that is our biggest adventure yet! Twelve days by train all around Southern Honshu! Then… Fujiyoshida’s fire festival, and probably by then it will be March! Hahahaha, no that’s just the summer! Ja ne!