Shōnan Ajisai

A simple invitation by one friend of mine, I spent a Saturday to take a trip to Enoshima, the second time to go there. June, just before the raining season comes, it is the nice time to see the Ajisai, AKA Hydrangea macrophylla.

Before the main post, let’s do some photo talking. All the pics I took this time was using Sony A7 camera body, Nikkor 50mm F1.2 lens aperture set at f2.0, except several night shot I set the aperture to all open 1.2 or 4.0.

Like the first time I went to Enoshima, the transport to get there is Odakyu Line + Enoden Line set ticket, 1470JPY. The advantage of this set ticket is that I can take on and off Enoden Line for unlimited times. But not like the first time, it was weekend that day, since the famous season of Ajisai, full of tourist there.

So the biggest mission was to find nice places without crazy amount people. We walked through little paths, aimed at some unfamous temples, quite a special experience I think. The weather that day was sunny and unusually hot, I tried to exposure the photos in neutral and post process them under a well brightness control, in order to show the body feeling from that temperature.

The first spot was Kamakura Hachimangu. The Lotus there still need one month to bloom. the whole garden just smells so calm.

Thanks to my friend, I could take some photos that I can not image when I travel alone. For example this, people need to wash their hands, as well as their mind first to enter the temples in Japan. I can’t say why, but this shot let me feel the summer.

A lucky shot of the penguin drinking and playing on the handwash plat.

The Hachimangu Temple itself was just normal, okay, it is famous so we went there with this reason only.

The most famous and delicious food in Shōnan is the Shirashu Rice, a rice with little white fishes. The traditional made lunch set costs 1100JPY and the lovely grandma owner just let the lunch be the perfect one.

Left the big spot Hachimangu Temple, no reason to follow that crazy amount of people. We began turning into little paths. Actually, the beautiful Ajisai was everywhere, Far more exciting to find them than to follow the touring map.

Then we found this, the vending machine of glass bottle CocaCola. So retro and so cute it was. Without hesitation, I bought one and carried the nice bottle back to Tokyo.

A wood making store hiding on one side of a path, the comfortable smell of the wood went with the nosmell Ajisai.

This wishing board is called Ema in japanese. People write their wishes on to them and hang them up. In this temple, the god power of pass the exam is believed.

Once a pastime, about the year 1200 -1300, Kamakura was the capital city of Japan. That is why so many ancient temples have been builded here. Even walked along the most quiet path in Kamakura, you can find all kinds of ancient traces of that time.

We failed to enter two famous spot in Kamakura: Hase temple and Mithy Badha, just because of too many people.

The decision has been made to directly skip to beachside. Went back to Enoden Line, jammed into crowd train and escaped.

Heading the Enoshima Island, already the time of sunset. Not good view distance on that day, the air was wet and foggy. The beachside is under construction.

The Enoshima station’s birds has their Sweater! Lovely.

The night fell, my first time going to the island.

Accurately, there was not so many interesting spots on the island, but I think it still worse to go. The two big places to go are, Enoshima Shrine and observatory.

An interesting Destiny Divination of the Enoshima shinrin. This is called Omikuji in japan, and the special Omikuji here, need the water to show up the answer of you future.

And about the observatory, because of no time, no money, no interest to go in such a bad weather, only a photos beside was enough. Hope I can go here in a nice sunny day, and that time I will climb it.

Felt so tired when I returned to Tokyo, anyway a fully great memory again at Shōnan. It is sure that I love this place, the temples, the flowers, the sea, the train. What a beautiful place.

 

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