Enoshima (江ノ島) is a small island, about 4 km in circumference, at the mouth of the Katase River, which flows into Sagami Bay in Kanagawa, Japan. Part of the city of Fujisawa, it is linked to the Katase section of the same city on the mainland by a 600 meter-long bridge.
In 1880 after the 'Abolish the Buddha. Destroy Sakyamuni' policy of the new Meiji government had made the land available, 1 hectare of land was purchased by Samuel Cocking (1842-1914), a British merchant, in his Japanese wife's name. He developed a 660-sqm power plant and extensive botanical gardens including a very large greenhouse. Although the greenhouse was destroyed in the 1923 earthquake, the botanical gardens remain an attraction. Inside the garden there is a 180-foot-high observation tower which is used as a lighthouse. The tower offers a view of Sagami Bay, Oshima Island and Mt. Fuji on a clear day. There are also tropical plants, a small zoo and playground for children.
From the top of the island, visitors can view the Shonan Harbor on the East Coast of Enoshima. The harbor was constructed in 1964 to protect the beach form erosion and to develop the district for tourism as well as fishing. There is a yacht harbor where the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games were held.
