Saturday 9 November 2013

The Dragon Palace Station

EMU Odakyu 3000 series stands at Katase-Enoshima Station on the Enoshima Line
 
When we visited Enoshima Island last week, we found that the nearest railway station was lit up beautifully. Katase-Enoshima, the terminal of Odakyu-Enoshima Line, was opened in 1929. It is quite a unique station, as the station building was constructed with the Dragon Palace in mind.

What is Dragon Palace?

Dragon Palace appears in Japanese folklore, "Urashima Taro". A fisherman, Urashima Taro, helped a turtle, who was tortured by children on a beach. The turtle expressed his (or her) thanks to Taro, and invited him to Dragon Palace, where the sea-god lived. Dragon Palace was located under the sea. It was built from red and white coral. Taro spent three days there, enjoying parties; but, time flew while he was having fun. One day in the palace was equal to a century outside the palace. So, when Taro returned his village, he became an old man.

Currently, Katase-Enoshima Station is lit up beautifully in the evenings. Special LED lights are used for the illuminations. Needless to say, it is one of the promotion activities by Odakyu Electric Railway Company to attract tourists to Enoshima Island. I saw that many families and couples were taking commemorative pictures in front of this unique station building.

In the meantime, I am going to show you platforms and a train standing at Katase-Enoshima Terminal. The EMU 3000 series is the latest standard commuter train on the Odakyu Line. Along with the 1000 series, it is a train for my everyday use.

 
Night view of Katase-Enoshima station building (constructed in 1929) on the Odakyu-Enoshima Line