Let's have a date at Enoshima

Just an hour away from Tokyo and Yokohama lies the beautiful 湘南 beach, and a lovely island, Enoshima 江ノ島.

With the beach, sunset and onsen, Enoshima has almost all the elements of a dating spot. No wonder it is one of the most popular dating spot in Japan. When I was there, there were lots of young couples and also groups of students enjoying their summer vacation at Enoshima.





Now here's what made me fell in love with Enoshima:


The sunset with Mt Fuji! One can see Mount Fuji where the Sea Candle is. Sea Candle is the lighthouse at Enoshima.

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Besides taking a stroll up from the town to Sea Candle, you can opt for an easier option, which is taking a series of escalators to the top. Buy your tickets at the Enoshima Esuka 江の島エスカー counter. There is also a special packaged deal which includes the escalator ride and entrance to Sea Candle.

While you are at the Sea Candle, do not forget to try one of their speciality snacks, the Tako Senbei タコ煎餅. Only after you have ordered, they will start to make the senbei. Hence queues can be quite long. Be prepared to wait. Using fresh ingredients, they will coat it with flour (not sure what flour it is though), and then pressing a heavy steamy machine against it. There are 3 flavours: octopus, prawn and crab.

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There are two shops selling tako senbei. One at the town (the queue is longer though) and the second one is at foot of the Sea Candle.

After trying the tako senbei, it's time to watch the breathtaking scenary of Enoshima from Sea Candle.

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Besides the observation section, which is enclosed, you can also climb one more flight of winding steps to the top of Sea Candle, which is not enclosed. Be careful though, the winds are very strong. Hold on to your hats and scarves!

The streets are lit up after 6.30pm during summer, as part of the Lantern Festival.



After a long hard day, where shall we go for a recharge? Try Enospa! As a onsen lover, Enospa was the strongest pulling factor for me to make a stop at Enoshima.

Besides having normal onsen pools, they also have infinity pools outdoor at 2nd and 3rd floor. The view of the sea from the infinity pool, accompanied by the sea breeze, is simply magnificent! There are even pools in a man-made cave. Of course, what's a spa, without jaguzzi. Besides, jaguzzi, they have sauna, swimming pools, cafes next to the pools and relaxation rooms (some customers actually take a nap there).

Unfortunately, we can't take pictures in Enospa, hence I am unable to show you the facilities. However, you can take a look at their website and you would understand what draws me there. :)

It costs 2650yen per entry, but you can stay for the whole day. The costs also include a bath set comprising of a bath robe, a bath towel and a netted bag. (These are on loan, and have to be returned after your stay.)

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Remember to bring your swim suit! Besides the onsen area, the other pool areas require us to wear swim suits as these are common areas. Only the onsen area is separated by gender.

Do not forget to visit the Italian restaurant, Island Grill, on the 4th floor, which has the best sea view.




Window seats - but be careful though, it can be really hot along these seats.


Sakura prawn spaghetti topped with lots of ikan bilis

Do remember to try the ikan bilis しらす, that's their speciality at Enoshima.

If you have time, do explore Kamakura 鎌倉, which is an old city minutes away from Enoshima. It houses one of heritage sites, the Great Buddha 大仏 at Tookuin 高徳院. It has more shopping options too, for those who need more souvenir choices.

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The nearest station to get to 高徳院 is Hase 長谷 Station. It is within walking distance from the station.

Jaa, see ya at Enoshima in summer~

Sunset by Duxton

Have you tried watching the sunset from 50th storey? Moreover, it's from a HDB, public housing flat!

The Pinnacle@Duxton, from the exterior, it really doesn't resemble least bit like a flat. It really looks like a condominium. And it feels like one too, when we tried to access the skybridge.
(And btw, which HDB flat has a microsite to call its own? Learn why Duxton is special here.)

Here's how to get to Pinnacle@Duxton:



First we have to go to the security office office to make payment of $5 using our Easy Link cards, next take the lift to 50th storey, tap your card to enter the gates.

And viola! We have reached our destination.

I really loved the scenery there. As there are altogether 7 blocks all connected by the sky bridge. Hence just by going around the circumference of these 7 blocks, we can really see different sides of Singapore: cityscape, port, low housing - Chinatown area, flats, and even Sentosa! We even saw the mini fireworks that were displayed at the end of the "Songs of the Sea" at Sentosa from Duxton!







It's a really cloudy evening when we visited, hence we didn't get to watch the sun set. However, I managed to get some good shots still.











For more sneaks, pls view my facebook album.

I would love to go back again, for some proper sunset shots.
And if possible, some bubble shots against the sunset.

Somehow, I can't forget the bubbles taken at Chek Jawa, when we climbed the tower then:


Thanks, Victor, for this picture!

Pinnacle@Duxton, I will be back!

I Love Sunsets!

Thanks for the recent photography trips, I was able to capture the moments of sunset at different locations, all in Singapore. I love the orange hue of sunrises and sunsets, especially on how they transform the blue skys and white/ grey clouds to shades of orange and red. However, I am not an early-riser, so sunrises are pretty much out-of-bounds to me, and thus, I have to rely on sunsets to witness these wonderful colour-transformation by nature.

Some sunsets are caught at pure accidental moments, such as this picture which was taken during the Southern Ridge walk:


A peek at sunset through canopy of leaves using my 3x zoom.

And some are a race of time:


Stadium Bridge at Kallang with the sunset rays in the background. A beautiful sight.


The rush to the top of the twin pagodas before the sun sets in the Chinese Garden.

And for some others, it was a long wait for the sunset- at Changi Boardwalk, which is also the most beautiful of all, as you can watch the complete sunset without any obstructions. The sun looks like an egg yolk from here.



Here's how to get to Changi Boardwalk (one of the landmarks is Changi Sailing Club, thus the map below):



Can't get enough of the sunset shots? Check out my facebook album.

See ya at the next sunset!