My summer night-time walk continued, with my next destination being Enoshima Island in Kanagawa Prefecture.
As I mentioned before, Enoshima Island is a well-known sightseeing spot in the Tokyo metropolitan area. It is located about 60 kilometers southwest of central Tokyo. One of the island’s most popular seasonal events is the Enoshima Lantern Festival, where visitors can enjoy countless lanterns illuminating streets, parks, and shrines. This year, I visited the festival for the first time in eight years. After strolling around the island, I climbed the Enoshima Sea Candle (Enoshima Observation Lighthouse) and enjoyed a bird’s-eye view of the glowing lanterns (see photo below).
Of course, I can’t finish without mentioning the railway side of things… since this is a railway blog! To reach Enoshima Island, the nearest station is Katase-Enoshima, the terminal of the Odakyu Enoshima Line. Before heading to the island, I did some train photography near the station. My target was the EMU Odakyu 30000 series, Romancecar EXE (Excellent Express). As I wrote before, the EXE is the first multipurpose Romancecar, introduced in 1996. Each trainset can be divided into six- and four-car sections to improve operational flexibility.
This time, I captured a four-car EXE trainset led by its streamlined front car. Finding a good shooting spot can be tricky, especially if I want to shoot in front-light conditions. Fortunately, I remembered the location where I photographed the EMU 60000 series back in March, so I could successfully take this shot as well (see top photo). As a trainspotter, I’m particular about photographing trains I haven’t captured yet. You feel the same way too, don’t you?
