Getting Around Central Honshu

Japan

Winter 2024

A wave of nostalgia... looking off into the distance at the Kamakurakōkō-Mae station,
as a crowd lines up to that railway crossing made famous by 'Slam Dunk-anime'.
(Jan-Feb 2024)

Travel Journal... Wanderlust, noun - a strong desire for or impulse to wander or travel and explore the world. For Filipinos, like myself, this is also strongly motivated by a multiple entry visa stamped on one's passport. Fresh from a holiday trip to Japan's snowiest Hokkaido region for year ender 2023 and HNY 2024, here we are headed back to Japan's central Honshu region after a month. It's a short 5-hour flight away from the Philippines... usually.

two peas in business

26-27 jan: Manila-Hongkong-Narita flight via #CathayPacific... 6:22pm, Cathay Pacific lounge, NAIA-Terminal 3. 8:24pm, takeoff Manila. 10:04pm, landing Hongkong. 10:39pm, Cathay Pacific lounge at the Pier, Chek Lap Kok. 1:33am, takeoff Hongkong. 5:03am, landing Narita. Cathay Pacific's noodle bar and tea house at the lounges had me preoccupied not to count the extra hours... I even wished to have stayed and slept longer in my recliner seat were it not for a mid-flight tail wind pushing a 1-hour early arrival time at Narita. 8:14am, NEX (Narita Express) train. 9:45am, Shinjuku stop. Check-in: #JRBlossomHotelShinjuku, a block away from Shinjuku station. A charge was paid on top of first day booking for early hotel check-in, Rm. 503; check-in time is 2pm. Flying unholy hours, early hotel check-in spells a whale of difference, believe me.

28-jan: Day trip to Kamakura & Enoshima island... one hour away on the train from Shinjuku station. Exit Kamakura station, purchase a day pass for the Enoden line that takes you from end-to-end, for unlimited hop on, hop off to sightseeing spots. Hase stop: to the Great Buddha of Kamakura. Kamakurakokomae stop: to the railroad crossing featured in the opening scene of the 'Slam Dunk-anime' (I have yet to watch on TV.) Enoshima stop: to cross the 400-meter bridge connecting Kamakura to Enoshima island for the night illumination on top of the island. By the seaside, it was calming. On a clear day, majestic Mt. Fuji will even grace for a backdrop to one's souvenir photo.

A sitting Great Buddha of Kamakura awaits every curious visitor, while a pair of his giant slippers are tacked on a wall (not in photo)

 400-meter stretch of bridge connects mainland Kamakura to Enoshima island; your choice: ride or walk

Enoshima Sea Candle (lighthouse) is a spectacle of lights by sundown on top of the island

(to be continued...)