Enoshima Electric Railway

The Enoshima Electric Railway or Enoshima Dentetsu Line (江ノ島電鉄, Enoshima dentetsu), also known by the abbreviation Eno-den (江ノ電), is a Japanese railway which connects Kamakura Station in Kamakura with Fujisawa Station in Fujisawa, Kanagawa. Stations en route include Hase, the stop closest to Kōtoku-in, the temple with the colossal outdoor statue of Amida Buddha. The railway is fully owned by the Odakyu Group of companies.

A train on the Enoshima Electric Railway

Enoshima Electric Railway Co., Ltd.

A train at Shichirigahama Station
Overview
Parent company	Odakyu Group
Headquarters	4-7 Katasekaigan, Fujisawa City[1]
Locale	Fujisawa, Kanagawa, Japan
Dates of operation	November 25, 1900; 123 years ago (1900-11-25)[1]–present
Technical
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Electrification	600 V DC, overhead line
Length	10.0 km (6.2 miles)
Other
Website	www.enoden.co.jp
Route map Legend Tōkaidō Main Line Odakyū Enoshima Line 0.0 Fujisawa (藤沢) 0.6 Ishigami (石上) 1.2 Yanagikōji (柳小路) 1.9 Kugenuma (鵠沼) 2.7 Shōnankaigankōen (湘南海岸公園) Company Headquarters 3.3 Enoshima (江ノ島) 3.9 Koshigoe (腰越) 4.7 Kamakurakōkōmae (鎌倉高校前) 5.6 Shichirigahama (七里ヶ浜) 6.8 Inamuragasaki (稲村ヶ崎) 7.6 Gokurakuji (極楽寺) 8.3 Hase (長谷) 8.9 Yuigahama (由比ヶ浜) 9.2 Wadazuka (和田塚) Yokosuka Line to Tokyo 10.0 Kamakura (鎌倉) Yokosuka Line Kurihama

Route and operations

Enoshima Electric Railway route

The route is 10 kilometers (6.2 mi) long and has a rail gauge of 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in). It is single-track; however, five of the route's fifteen stations are equipped with passing loops, allowing for the operation of bi-directional traffic. Included in the route is a short (450-metre (1,480 ft)) section of street running between Koshigoe and Enoshima stations. However, the entire line is governed under the Railway Business Act (鉄道事業法, Tetsudō Jigyō Hō) of the Japanese government, being granted an exception to allow for street running (the only other examples of street-running 'railways' being the Keihan Keishin Line, Keihan Ishiyama-Sakamoto Line and the Kumamoto Electric Railway). Trains are electrically powered from 600 V DC overhead lines. The section from Kamakura Station to Koshigoe is in the city of Kamakura; that from Enoshima to Fujisawa Station is in the city of Fujisawa.

Stations

Enoshima Station, 2024

The entire line is in Kanagawa Prefecture

No	Station	Japanese	Distance (km)		Transfers	Location
			Between stations	Total
	Fujisawa	藤沢	–	0.0	JS Shōnan–Shinjuku Line JT Tōkaidō Line OE Odakyū Enoshima Line	Fujisawa
	Ishigami	石上	0.6	0.6
	Yanagikōji	柳小路	0.6	1.2
	Kugenuma	鵠沼	0.7	1.9
	Shōnankaigankōen	湘南海岸公園	0.8	2.7
	Enoshima	江ノ島	0.6	3.3	OE Odakyū Enoshima Line (Katase-Enoshima) Shonan Monorail (Shonan-Enoshima)
	Koshigoe	腰越	0.6	3.9		Kamakura
	Kamakurakōkōmae	鎌倉高校前	0.8	4.7
	Shichirigahama	七里ヶ浜	0.9	5.6
	Inamuragasaki	稲村ヶ崎	1.2	6.8
	Gokurakuji	極楽寺	0.8	7.6
	Hase	長谷	0.7	8.3
	Yuigahama	由比ヶ浜	0.6	8.9
	Wadazuka	和田塚	0.3	9.2
	Kamakura	鎌倉	0.8	10.0	JS Shōnan–Shinjuku Line JO Yokosuka Line

Rolling stock

As of 1 April 2015^[update], Enoden operates a fleet of 15 two-car electric multiple unit (EMU) train types as shown below.^[2][3]

Type	Car numbers		Manufacturer	Date built	Notes
300 series	305	355	Toyoko Sharyo	May 1960	Rebuilt from former Keio DeHa 2000.
1000 series	1001	1051	Tokyu Car	November 1979
	1002	1052		November 1979
1100 series	1101	1151		December 1981
1200 series	1201	1251		December 1983
1500 series	1501	1551		November 1979
	1502	1552		November 1979
2000 series	2001	2051		March 1990
	2002	2052		March 1991
	2003	2053		July 1991
10 series	10	50		March 1997
20 series	21	61		March 2002	Used running gear from former 500 series.
	22	62		March 2003
500 series	501	551		March 2006
	502	552		March 2008

• 
  300 series set 305 in 2005
• 
  500 series

Former rolling stock

• 500 series

• 
  Original 500 series set 502 in April 1992

Buses

Enoden operates buses from stations like Kamakura

Enoden also operates bus service in the area.

History

The original Enoshima Electric Railway opened the line on 1 September 1902.^[4]

The company subsequently went through a series of ownership changes: Yokohama Electric Railway Co. in 1911, Tokyo Electric Power Co. in 1921, (second) Enoshima Electric Railway Co. in 1926, Tokyu Corporation in 1938, Enoshima Kamakura Tourist Co. in 1949, and Odakyu Electric Railway Co. in 1953. The (third) Enoshima Electric Railway Co. was formed on 1 September 1981 as a subsidiary of Odakyu.^[4]

Popular culture

Gokurakuji Station is one of the settings for the 2015 film Our Little Sister.^{[5][unreliable source?]}

Japanese alternative rock band Asian Kung-Fu Generation's fifth studio album, Surf Bungaku Kamakura (released 2008), had each track named after a stop on the railway line starting with Fujisawa and ending with Kamakura. The band has since announced a continuation of this album for the rest of the stations that did not originally have a song, starting withYanagikōji Parallel Universe releasing as a B-side track in 2022.

Anime

The Enoshima Electric Railway and its rolling stock painted in the company's green-and-yellow colours have made numerous appearances in Japanese animated series, including those adapted from manga and light novel series such as:^[6]

• Slam Dunk (1993)
• Sweet Blue Flowers (2009)
• A Channel (2011)
• Tsuritama (2012)
• Tari Tari (2012)
• Ping Pong: the Animation (2014)
• Hanayamata (2014)
• Myriad Colors Phantom World (2016)
• Minami Kamakura High School Girls Cycling Club (2017)
• Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai (2018)
• Super Cub (2021)

Video games

• Enoden's railway line was entirely simulated in a train simulator Densha de Go! Ryojōhen.

References

This article incorporates material from the corresponding article in the Japanese Wikipedia.

1. "Company Information". Enoshima Electric Railway Ltd. Archived from the original on 3 March 2023. Retrieved 3 March 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
2. 私鉄車両編成表 2015 [Private Railway Rolling Stock Formations - 2015] (in Japanese). Japan: Kotsu Shimbunsha. 23 July 2015. p. 83. ISBN 978-4-330-58415-7.
3. 路面電車年鑑2015 [Tramcar Annual 2015] (in Japanese). Japan: Ikaros Publishing. 20 January 2015. p. 48. ISBN 978-4863209527.
4. Terada, Hirokazu (19 January 2013). データブック日本の私鉄 [Databook: Japan's Private Railways] (in Japanese). Japan: Neko Publishing. p. 79. ISBN 978-4-7770-1336-4.
5. "Go To the Shooting Locations of Our Little Sister and Experience Where the Sisters Lived Their Daily Lives! - GOOUME JP". GOOUME_JP. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
6. "Anime, movie and drama location on Enoshima and Kamakura". 30 January 2024.

Further reading

• Fukaya, Kenji (2015). 江ノ電 10kmの奇跡 [Enoden - The 10 km Miracle] (in Japanese). Japan: Toyo Keizai Inc. ISBN 9784492502761.

External links

• Official website