Home to some of the closest sandy beaches to Tokyo and Yokohama, the island and adjacent coastline are the hub of a local resort area.

The island in its entirety is dedicated to the goddess, who is said to have caused it to rise from the bottom of the sea in the sixth century.

In 1880, after the Shinto and Buddhism separation order of the new Meiji government had made the land available, much of the uplands was purchased by Samuel Cocking, a British merchant, in his Japanese wife's name.

He developed a power plant and extensive botanical gardens including a very large greenhouse.

[7] While the bridge and town area of Enoshima are wheelchair accessible, anything past the main gate of the shrine (including the observation tower, caves, etc.)