Enoshima Sea Candle, Enoshima Island Part 2, Japan

 What I love about Enoshima Island is all the fun things you can do.

The Enoshima Sea Candle, which I believe is a lighthouse, can be seen even before you approach the island.  It stands out.  And climbing to the top, via a quick elevator ride, is totally worth it.

 Approaching the sea candle.

 The first deck.

 A short jaunt to the top.

 What incredible views!!!!

 Truly breathtaking.

 We weren't able to see Mt. Fuji, but that's okay.  It was hazy.  But on a clear day Mt. Fuji stands out brilliantly.

 I love how everything in Japan can be bought from vending machines :0)

Got these two pins for 100 yen each.

I truly recommend Enoshima Island if you ever venture to Japan.

(Photos by Sarah and Michael Stufflebeam.)

Enoshima, aka Tri Force Island, Part 1

 Day 01: Our first adventure.

Enoshima.

Or as I renamed: Tri Force Island.

You can get there from both the Katase-Enoshima and Enoshima lines on the Odakyu rail system.  We got off at the Katase-Enoshima station.  It's about an hour from Tokyo station, 1 1/2 hours from Shinjuku Station.

 But before we left the station we had to get our pictures taken.

 First you must cross the bridge.

 And on the other side of the bridge is the Visitors Center, which I highly recommend visiting.  There's visitor centers all over the Tokyo area, and they seem to always have English speakers on staff to answer any questions and explain great deals.

 We bought the above Eno-pass at the visitors center for only 1,000 yen, a little less then $10 at current currency exchange rates, which got us into everything on the island, including the escalators, for an overall savings.  We didn't visit the aquarium, which could have been fun, and I forgot to take advantage of the 5% shop savings.  I spent 10,000 yen at one store, less then 100 dollars, in souvenirs and gifts, and that 5% would have been useful!

The second, orange pass was for the boat, which was 400 yen.  You buy it on the other side of the island, just passed the tide pools.  After spending a day climbing over the island, a quick boat ride back was really nice.

 Every eatery on the island is seafood based, so I ate here for dinner.  Heh . . .

 There are dragons and tri-forces all over the island.  I don't know where the tri-force in Zelda came from, but I'd like to think Enoshima served as inspiration.

 Seafood everywhere!!  They cook these shell fish on the spot.

 A map of the island.

 Aproaching the first torii.

 A tri-force hidden behind a map.

 I don't know how much we missed riding the escalators, but it was a really hot, humid day, so they were really nice.

 A beautiful view of the ocean.

These spiders!!!  They were hanging from trees all over the island.

Next: The Light house with its beautiful views.

And later, part 3: Enoshima Iwaya Caves and Tide Pools.

I'm Back From Tokyo!!

 

It's crazy to think that last Friday I got back from Tokyo after spending 6 days there, flying out from LAX on Friday the 2nd, then landing back in the States the following Friday (doing a little time traveling in the process, taking off from Narita airport around 4:30 PM and landing at LAX around 9:30 that morning).

It was a whirlwind.

As most vacations go, it went by way too fast.

I learned so much, which I'll be sharing in the next few weeks.  I just need to gather photos from my brother Michael and sister-in-law Krista, and then I can start compiling blog posts and put together a Shutterfly book as a family keepsake.  (I've put together 5 Shutterfly books in just the last 12 months.  Heh, its become routine.)

I'm embarrassed to admit how absolutely terrified I was right before going.  Man was I nervous.  Regrets about not learning more Japanese and still maintaining an inability to read it.  Worry over the train system.  Wondering how difficult it would be to arrive safely to the apartment we were staying in with all our luggage.  Thoughts, worry, thoughts, etc.  I'm a planner.  I like planning and preparing, knowing what to expect, and no amount of research settled my nerves, and the fact that my Japanese is limited didn't help.

But everything turned out fine!  It did take 4 hours to get to our location, but getting the bus ticket was really quite easy, and at the Narita airport there were people who spoke a little English.  and then when we were dropped off at the train station and I couldn't find the train platform, I was able to ask "Densha wa doko desu ka," and was shown where to go.  I knew just enough Japanese to get around, and on both the Odakyu and JR train lines all stops show both the Japanese and English, with a voice announcing in both languages.

Goodness, there was some culture shock.  That first bus ride was over 3 hours of COMPLETE silence.  I read somewhere how it's impolite to talk and make ANY type of noise on the train, but I wasn't quite prepared for that silence.  It was honestly a little unnerving.  But the bus ride was fun, because I got to see Tokyo from a distance (The Skytree stands out so brilliantly), and experience the highway system.

I was also surprised at how difficult it was to find food I liked.  Shamefully--yes, I must admit this!!!--I ate at McDonalds three times and Denny's twice.  Don't judge! (Or was that 4 times at McDonald's?) But I did get a great stake lunch in Shibuya.  I just wasn't prepared to embrace Japanese sea food.  And there was a smell that bothered me throughout the trip that I finally figured out at the airport on the way home: Ham.  They like to put ham on ramen and some other dishes, and I really, really don't like the smell of ham.  I'm the only one in my family with this strange quirk.

It was a great trip.  Just this morning I woke up wishing I could hop on the train for another adventure.

But I have a few weeks to talk about all the stuff I learned, experienced, and even some tips if you plan to ever visit Tokyo Japan.

Ikimashoo!!

(P.S. The original trip with my brother Steven was a month long. I would have left a few days before and right now I would be in Kyoto. We couldn't cancel and get a refund for the place we were staying in in Tokyo, so spontaneously I went with my other brother Michael and sister-in-law Krista. I kept it secret in case it fell through again, but everything fell right into place.)