Kanagawa · Updated: 2026-10-12
Around Katase-Enoshima Station (片瀬江ノ島駅) there are eight walking spots, from beaches and an aquarium to a wooden church, a secondhand clothing store and a live-music space. Most sit within a 3- to 16-minute walk of the station, so a single day can link the lanes just outside the exit with the roughly 1.6 km of sand that faces Enoshima. Whether or not you cross to the island decides whether this becomes a half-day route or one that runs until evening.
This guide covers 8 walking spots; 8 of them are an average 7-minute walk from the nearest station (3–16 min).
Counted from zorozoro listings when this page was generated. Walking minutes are estimates: straight-line distance to the nearest station × 1.3, at 80 m per minute.
A suggested order: Catholic Katase Church (a 5-minute walk from Shonan-Enoshima Station (湘南江の島駅), 09:00–17:00) → Ace General Store and Bong Sadhu Room (same building, open from 12:00, closed on Tuesdays) → Enoshima Aquarium (6 minutes on foot, last entry 16:00) → Katase-Higashihama Beach (a 7-minute walk) → Enoshima (a 16-minute walk) → Katase-Nishihama & Kugenuma Beach (a 14-minute walk) → and once the light drops, Enoshima Diner OPPA-LA (15:00–22:00).
A wooden church consecrated in 1939. Because some residents nearby were resistant to foreign culture, it was built in a Japanese style resembling a temple. Inside the sanctuary are sacred paintings by Hasegawa Roka; get in touch in advance if you would like a guide. It is a 5-minute walk from Shonan-Enoshima Station and open 09:00–17:00.
A secondhand clothing store carrying everything from New York vintage to TYPE X. It took over the building of an inn once run by the owner's grandfather, and the property now holds five shops. A 4-minute walk from Enoshima Station (江ノ島駅), open 12:00–20:00, closed on Tuesdays.
A bookshop inside the same building as Ace General Store. Like the sadhus, the wandering ascetics of India, it deals in things that keep the traces of human hands. A 4-minute walk from Katase-Enoshima Station, open 12:00–20:00 and closed on Tuesdays. Sharing a building with the clothing store, the two are easy to see in one stop.
An aquarium with Enoshima and the sea right beside it, known as the birthplace of the dolphin show. There is also a touch pool where you can touch Japanese bullhead sharks. A 6-minute walk from Katase-Enoshima Station, open 09:00–17:00 with last entry at 16:00; the hours shift with the season and holiday periods. It has no regular closing day, but it does close occasionally for facility inspections.
The beach on the east side of Enoshima, a 7-minute walk from Katase-Enoshima Station. Together with Nishihama and Kugenuma it forms about 1.6 km of sand, which served as the setting for the Wakadaishō (若大将) film series starring Kayama Yuzo in the 1960s and later grew into a home ground for surfing and beach volleyball. Higashihama is the swimming beach where families gather.
The island at the center of the Shonan landscape. In the Edo period it drew pilgrims to Benzaiten, in the Showa era honeymooners, in Heisei couples on dates, and in Reiwa inbound travellers — the people arriving have changed with each era. It is also an island that came from southern seas some 20 million years ago, and it holds a yacht harbor, the Sea Candle and the Iwaya caves. A 16-minute walk from Katase-Enoshima Station.
The beach on the west side of Enoshima. Surf shops line the street and many surfers chase the waves here. Enoshima's yacht harbor sits directly in front, and the "Shonan" scenery that Japanese people picture was born around here. A 14-minute walk from Katase-Enoshima Station.
A live-music space and diner on the fourth floor of a building that looks out at Enoshima. It opened at 7:00 on July 7, 2001. A 3-minute walk from Katase-Enoshima Station, open Thursday to Sunday 15:00–22:00 and closed Monday to Wednesday (it does open on event days).
One closing tip. Tuesdays close Ace General Store and Bong Sadhu Room, and Monday to Wednesday closes OPPA-LA, so Thursday to Sunday is the easiest window if you want the shops as well as the shore. With the aquarium's last entry at 16:00 and the church open until 17:00, walking the indoor spots first and the sand later keeps the day from running short.