Discovering Enoshima Island.

For our second staycation trip, we decided to break out our bikes.  A couple of weeks ago I rode my bike from just outside of base to Enoshima Island with a friend.  There really is no set path; you just follow the local river and end up at the island (clearly, we had a thorough plan).  I loved it so much that I wanted to take Matt on the bike trip.  Since our car is the size of a golf cart, there was no way that two bikes would fit in it.  So we decided to bike from our house to Enoshima, about 30 miles. 

I should tell you that we are far from bikers who actually know what they are doing and this is obvious to anyone that we meet on the trail, which became even more apparent when we ran into real bikers who were also on their way to the beach.  Let’s just say that they looked a hell of a lot more prepared than we did.  We woke up, slathered on some sunscreen, filled our water bottles, hit the road, and prayed to God that we would make it there and back in one piece.  I’m happy to say that we survived with only two teeny accidents.  We also ended the day with a stop at base to pick up some Coronado Island IPA and frozen pizza, which fit perfectly in my bike basket.  All in all, it was one of my very favorite days in Japan.  

We were biking on Children's Day (previously known as Boy's Day), a holiday in Japan celebrating the happiness of children.  The carp represent strength and success and are flown all around the country on this day and the days leading up to the holiday.  

This gentleman was playing his flute and serenaded us for part of our trip.

We finally made it!

We also biked to Enoshima Island during Golden Week, a week when virtually all of Japan is on vacation (and, apparently, at Enoshima Island).

At one point there was an ambulance that had to get on the island.  I thought that it was incredible the way that everyone created an open lane for it (even more incredible after you see the previous picture with the crowds of people).