息子と江ノ島
完全にオフシーズンだけど息子と江ノ島に行ってきました。
二学期頑張ったからごほうびに湘南プチ旅行ということで前から約束していたのでした。
うちの息子は、愛読書は時刻表という自他共に認める筋金入りの鉄オタで、なんなら行き先を言えば乗換案内とタイムスケジュールを勝手にやってくれるタイプの男の子。
さらには電車の中では全面展望を満喫したり、すれ違う列車の系・番台を言い当てたりして勝手に楽しんでくれるので、こちらとしては仕事をしたり寝てたりしても電車の中なら世話いらず。目的地に近づけば彼の方からアテンションしてくれるので電車の旅は非常に快適である。
そんな彼の目的はもちろん小田急と江ノ電。なんなら帰りは湘南モノレールと湘南新宿ライン（グリーン車）だ。予定と寸分の狂いもなく江ノ島に到着した。
冬の湘南は東京よりは温かいもののやはり寒い。もとは神奈川県出身の私だが冬の江ノ島は初めてかもしれない。「いま海に入ったらヤバい？凍えるね」なんて息子と話しながら江ノ島大橋を渡っていると、SUP（立ち漕ぎカヤック）に赤い衣装をまとった一団が…海上サンタの一団である。メ、メリークリスマス！
サンタの衝撃はひとまず、やはり江ノ島といえばお宮参りだろう。
じつは初めて江ノ島の３つの神社を廻った。もうン十年前に今は亡き私の父親と辺津宮（一番メジャーな最初のお宮様）までは行った記憶があるが、当時はエスカレーターもなかったし、ここから先には行ったことがなかった。
すべてお参りするうちに、二拝二拍手一礼をマスターした息子だった。
さて道中、江ノ島のシンボル「キャンドルタワー」にも登った。
キャンドルタワーに登ったのもこれが初めてだ。冬は視界がクリアなので房総半島や大島、富士山までとてもよく見えた。雲間を縫って差し込む光が太平洋を白く照らす光景は神々しい。ただ、寒い。
体も冷えたのでそろそろ昼食をということで、老舗で評判も上々な"江之島亭"に入った。息子は電車以外にも無類の海鮮好きで、海のものならなんでも食べる。彼のお目当てはもちろん海鮮丼のようだ。
その日は生しらすが海鮮丼にのせる分しか用意できないということなので、生しらす丼の食べたかった私も自動的に海鮮丼に。お財布に堪える。
調子に乗ってタコとしらすのかき揚げも頼んだらさすがにお腹が苦しくなったことはママには秘密だ。というわけで昼食を終えて２時過ぎにはもうだいぶ寒くなってきたので江ノ島から撤収することに。
帰路は息子くんの願い通り湘南モノレールと湘南新宿ラインのグリーン車に乗ることができて彼にとって最高の一日になったようです(笑)
僕の親父は口下手ですこし気難しい人だったけど小さい頃はいろんなところに連れてってくれた。なんでだろうね、最近は何でもかんでも忘れっぽくなっちゃったのにそういう思い出はよく覚えてるもんだ。
僕も親父として息子を連れてくることができてなんだか嬉しかった。もしかしてこいつが親父になったとき、いつかまた江ノ島に子供を連れて行って、そういえば…なんて僕のことを思い出してくれたらなんだか幸せだな。なんてことを思った冬の一日でした。
pomodorosa
Enoshima with my son
It's completely off-season, but I went to Enoshima with my son.
I had promised him a short trip to Shonan as a reward for his hard work in the second semester.
My son is a self-proclaimed die-hard train nerd whose favorite books are timetables of trains, and he's the type of boy who will give me transfer directions and a time schedule if I tell him our destination.
He always enjoys the panoramic view on the train and can guess the train series and number of trains passing by, so I don't have to worry about him on the train even if I’m working or sleeping.
Then he will informed to me when we get close to our destination, so the train journey is very comfortable.
Such is his purpose is of course Odakyu and Enoden. Furthermore, on the way back, he is planning take the Shonan Monorail and Shonan-Shinjuku Line (Green Car).
Thus we arrived at Enoshima exactly as planned.
Shonan in winter is warmer than Tokyo, but still cold. I'm originally from Kanagawa Prefecture, but this may be my first time in Enoshima in winter.
As we were crossing the Enoshima Bridge, talking to my son about whether it would be dangerous to go into the sea now? It would be freezing, When we saw a group of people in red outfits on SUPs (stand-up paddle kayaks).
Yes, they ware group of Santas on the sea. Merry Christmas!
Putting aside the shock of Santa for now, but when it comes to Enoshima, it's the shrine visit.
Actually, this was the first time I visited the three shrines in Enoshima. I remember going all the way to Hetsumiya (the first and most famous shrine) with my late father several decades ago, but there were no escalators back then, and I had never gone any further than that.
After visiting all the shrines, my son mastered the two bows, two claps, one bow(Rituals of Shrine visit).
On the way, we also climbed the Candle Tower, the symbol of Enoshima.
This was my first time climbing the Candle Tower. In winter, the visibility is so clear that you can see the Boso Peninsula, Oshima Island, and even Mt. Fuji. The view of the white light shining through the clouds and illuminating the Pacific Ocean is divine. However, it is cold.
My body was cold, so I decided to have lunch and went to the long-established and highly rated "Enoshima-tei".
In addition to trains, my son is an unparalleled lover of seafood, he eats anything from the sea.
Of course, his porpouse is a seafood bowl. I wanted to eat a bowl of raw whitebait, but it seemed like not many whitebait had been caught that day, so I had no choice but to have a seafood bowl. It was hard on the wallet.
It's no secret to my wife that I got carried away and ordered fried octopus and whitebait, but I ended up having a stomach ache.
So after lunch, it was already getting quite cold by 2pm, so we decided to leave Enoshima.
On the way back, as my son wished, we were able to ride the Shonan Monorail and Green Car of Shonan Shinjuku Line, and it seemed to be the best day for him (lol).
My father was not good at talking and was a bit difficult, but he took me to many places when I was little. I wonder why? I've become forgetful of everything lately, but I still remember those memories well. I was happy to be able to bring my son here as a father.
Maybe when he becomes a father himself, he'll take his son to Enoshima again someday and remember me, saying, "Oh, this place is..." I'd be very happy.
That's what I thought on that winter day.
pomodorosa