While preparing the itinerary for our trip, the missus was quite insistent that we should plan to stay on Enoshima Island till evening, and specifically to see the Winter Illumination and light-up at the Samuel Cocking Garden. I didn’t know what the fuss was about, since we’d already listed a number of winter light-up areas in Tokyo for this trip, and – innocently – thought one would be about the same as the next.
And boy, I couldn’t have been more wrong! This was the most elegant and beautifully done winter illumination I’ve seen anywhere. It was quite a stunning transformation from the rather sedate area that we had been exploring in the daytime. The popularity of the winter illumination on the island really showed in the sudden surge of visitors when the lights came on, and from what I observed, most of the visitors were locals rather than tourists.
The photos just don’t do enough justice to how beautiful the light-up is. If you’re visiting Enoshima Island in winter, even if you can only spend half a day, try to time it such that you can spend at least half an hour exploring this light-up.
That’s a wrap for our Day 05 itinerary. We’d be spending Day 06 exploring more spots in central Tokyo tomorrow, so more to come very soon!