Enoshima is for Lovers

First I want to say this is the 100th blog!!!! Whoop whoop! Thank you for all of my faithful readers who give me a reason to blog. Thank you for all your love and support as we continue on our journey here in Japan! xoxo

Ok, on to important things... Our last big sightseeing adventure with all the family was to Enoshima island- considered off the beaten path by many a guidebook, but also a hidden gem if I do say so myself! I had been there once before but this was everyone else's first time to the island! It is about a 30 minute drive from the base and worth every minute. For those of you who remember my earlier blog and my 8th lucky god stamp, this is where I came to get it! It was a somewhat rainy day so there weren't many people around which was nice- we sort of had the island to ourselves! There certainly weren't many tourists around which made it even more authentic!

"Ring the bell together and your love will continue forever"

  We hiked around the whole island and even went into the caves which were really cool! The best part was going back to lovers bell with my love and locking our love there forever!

The story goes: Once upon a time, a bad dragon with five heads settled in the bottomless swamp among the mountains of Fukasawa, Kamakura and tormented the people. They called the place “Koshigoe”, and feared the dragon, because he would steal their children. For many days, dense clouds enveloped on the sea in front of “Koshigoe”. For a short time, heaven and earth quaked violently. After that, a heavenly maiden appeared sudenly, the clouds cleared and an island appeared. This island is known today as Enoshima.  

Dragon???

Beth & Damian forever!

The dragon fell in love with her, and he proposed to her. But she refused him because of the bad things he did.  Afterwards, he mended his ways and then was able to get married to her. 

Today, the heavenly maiden is worshiped as Benzaiten in Enoshima. A bell has been placed here in memory of this legend by Fujisawa Tourist Association. To keep the legend alive, couples who wish to express their undying love for each other can have their names printed onto a plate which will be permanently attached to the bell’s structure. 

We bought a lock and wrote our little love notes on it, Damian wrote on one side and I wrote on the other. We locked it onto the fence and rang the bell together. We sealed it with a kiss (we added that part ourselves). Pretty cool, huh? I've been waiting over a year to bring him there so we could do this together! We hiked back to the other side of the island and got some quick snacks on the way out... For me it was green tea ice cream... and for Damian, an octopus on a stick!

Japanese Word of the Day:
Tako (like taco): Octopus