Wednesday 4 September 2013

Nostalgic Tram in Surfer's Paradise

A surfer (left) and the EMU Enoden 1000 series (right) near Enoshima Station

As I introduced before, Kamakura is a historic city where the bakufu (shogunate government) was located from 1185 to 1333. This city is located on the Pacific Ocean to the south. Meanwhile, there are steep mountains to the north, east and west as a natural fortification in the Samurai (warrior) era.

This city has another face. It is also famous for marine sports such as surfing and yachting. Do you love surfing? To be honest, I love skiing, but I never got into surfing. Probably, I have a prejudice against marine sports. In Kamakura, there are plenty of surfing addicts. For instance, the Inamuragasaki area is well-known as a surfer's paradise in the Tokyo metropolitan area. You can see many kahunas (or shark biscuits?) on the sea on the weekend.

The main transporter in this surfer's paradise zone is Enoshima Electric Railway (Enoden). Enoden, connecting Kamakura and Fujisawa (10km), was opened in 1902. The track is single, and its electric system is 600V DC overhead. Look at the top photo. It is an EMU 1000 series, which has been operating since 1979. It is fun for me that the small-sized lovely train snakes on a curve near Enoshima Station.

To the left of the EMU 1000 series (see again the top photo), you can see a surfer, who is heading to his favorite spot. His beloved surfboard is perfectly installed on the right side of the bicycle. It is well thought out, isn't it?

 
EMU Enoden 1000 series arrives at Hase Station