The old capital by the sea

About an hour’s train ride south of Tokyo lies the seaside town of Kamakura. From the 12th to the 14th Century, it was the de facto capital of Japan under the rule of the Kamakura shogunate, under which it became the largest city in the country – and one of the most populous in the world. The days of the shogunate are now long past, and with it any pull the city once had to shape imperial authority, but the many monumental temples, shrines, and statues that dwell amongst its neighbourhoods still speak to the significance it once had.

There was a time when Ashley and I would have probably spent a day going from one cultural site to another, maybe stay a night so we can take in the city at a more leisurely pace. Not anymore. With the kids, the theme of the day was riding the Enoden, or the Enoshima Electric Railway, which cuts across Kamakura and connects it with the nearby city of Fujisawa. The classic green and yellow train takes passengers through a series of cute neighbourhoods and along the Pacific Ocean coast, and you only have to pay once to hop on and off the line all day. So no temples and shrines, but the kids loved the train, and I love what the kids love.

The Enoden

If you’re at all familiar with Japanese pop culture, then the Enoden needs little introduction. The train line has featured in a number of films, anime, and manga, most notably the wildly popular basketball-themed series Slam Dunk. With that popularity comes a legion of fans looking to capture a piece of their fandom on film, which I’m sure is a big reason why the trains were absolutely packed that day. The big draw is the little intersection by Kamakurakōkōmae Station that made an appearance in the Slam Dunk theme song, where the train tracks cross a road facing the ocean. Massive crowds lined the streets and parking lots around this corner, waiting to take that iconic photo of the Enoden making that crossing, and we made that pilgrimage too.

Neighbourhoods

There’s more to the Enoden line than just an iconic crossing, though. Each stop brings you to a different neighbourhood of Kamakura where you can get off and check out the local cafes, snack stalls, or gift shops. We came across this little coffee stand run by an old couple out of the back of a van, just outside one of the train stations. People were just chilling and enjoying their drinks, and even offering their recommendations when I was having trouble deciding what to order. At other stops we walked down to the road facing the ocean to take in the view, or ducked into a souvenir store to grab gifts for friends and family. Some stops we just got off to watch the trains go by at street level, weaving between buildings and narrow alleyways. The effect was utterly charming, and not a bad way to spend a day – if you can stomach the crowds on the train itself.

Back to Tokyo

In the late afternoon we made our way back to Kamakura Station. The crowds were a little lighter going back in this direction, allowing us to appreciate the journey a bit more – the rumble of the little train, the city neighbourhoods passing us by, even the chatter of our fellow passengers. There’s a popular genre of Japanese entertainment revolving around “slice-of-life” scenarios, where the mundane, everyday bits and bobs that make up our lived experiences take centre stage. This has probably warped the views of many visitors to Japan, myself included, in that we come looking for and expecting these in-between moments to happen here, away from our busy work and family lives back home. Never mind that our home lives are also filled with mundanity – because it happened in Japan, it feels extra “right”. You could argue that any travel experience involves such blending of the real and the imaginary, where our expectations of a place or experience is layered on top of the actual thing to become … something else. For me, on that day, riding the old train with the kids and Ashley as the winter sun began to set, trundling through a little seaside town after a long day of new experiences, that was my “slice-of-life” made real.

It took us about an hour to ride the JR line back to busy Tokyo, a far cry from the quiet streets of Kamakura. We grabbed dinner at one of those little sushi joints in Tsukiji before calling it a night. The next day’s agenda was the usual shopping, eat, eat some more, and before we knew it our time in Japan had come to a close. See you next year!