When you travel, there are few areas that resonated strongly in your mind and heart as a place of tranquility.
Many people find being in the mountains, near waterfalls or a beach as areas of tranquility, and I found an area that really made a big impression to me and that is Chigogafuchi Abyss at Enoshima Island (Kanagawa Prefecture).
It’s a beautiful location in which Mt. Fuji can be seen in the background, while walking, you can see tiny fish in various holes in the ground and of course, the area is surrounded by the ocean.
The plateau was created by an uplift phenomenon that spreads around Iwaya at the southwestern tip of the island and is known for its crushing waves, but also for its beauty during sunsets. It’s in the top 50 scenic spots in Kanagawa prefecture and it’s also a fishing spot.
While it’s a beautiful area, it’s not an area for people with the weakest of legs and stamina. Because Enoshima Island is an upward climb and then once you are high up, you’ll have to take a path to the abyss which is a path to go all the way down. You will no doubt get a workout just to get to Chigogafuchi Abyss and then when it’s time to leave, then you’ll have to walk all the way back up the island.
I see many people struggling to get to the area and out. It’s beautiful and can’t see why locals like to use this place to get their workout.
There are some legendary tales but the most prevalent is that he name of the area is because Shiragiku, a disciple of Kamakura Sojoin temple, who wrote a song on a folding fan, handed it to the island’s guardian and tragically took his life in the area.
When a monk who knew of Shirakiku during his visits to the temple in Kamakura (the two corresponded), opened the fan, it was a song that captured Shiragiku’s love for Enoshima. The monk would then follow Shiragiku to the sea and take his life.
The area would have a white chrysanthemum monument in the area until the early Taisho area.
