Kamakura/Shichirigahama Beach/Enoshima Island

Our tentative plan is to go from Tokyo to Kamakura and then hit Shichirigahama Beach and also Enoshima Island. We plan to take a train to get to Shichirigahama Beach. Then we were planning to walk (my research shows it should only be about 40 minutes) from Shichirigahama Beach to Enoshima Island (walking along the beach and then across the bridge).
My questions are, is walking feasible? If not, is there an easier and faster way? Also, I read that some people think Shichirigahama Beach is dirty, so would you recommend we skip it altogether? If so, is there a better beach nearby? Thanks so much for your time!

You can walk if you want, but you can also ride the same train (Enoden) you take from Kamakura to Shichirigahama, and get off at Enoshima Station.

You can buy a 1-day pass of Enoden and visit all other attractions (like the Great Buddha) along the route.

https://www.enoden.co.jp/en/tourism/ticket/noriorikun/

https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2166.html

As the other poster suggested, you should take the amusing Enoden train from Kamakura all the way to Enoshima, walk to the island and walk more inside it, then after that, go to Shichirigahama either by train or walking.

The reason I say this is because you need to walk quite a bit to fully enjoy Enoshima. You can go all the way up the hill to get a view, and you can walk from tiny shop to another for souvenirs and snacks. The long bridge from the mainland to the island is already quite a walk.

So you need to maintain that energy while you're in Enoshima. Then, if you still aren't tired, you can walk along the beach and get sandy or sticky or give up or dip your feet in the water or whatnot.

Whether Shichirigahama is dirty or not depends on your definition of a non-dirty beach. For example, the beaches along the Pacific Ocean aren't calm or clear-watered like the ones you see in Southeast Asia or the Setouchi Islands. They also aren't blue like the seas in Guam or Saipan. The sand isn't white either. It's not exactly due to litter. It's how nature is around the area.

Also, there isn't much shade along the beaches, and it can get quite windy, which would be another reason to make you tired.

For the record, I love visiting beaches around the world, I love walking, and the Kamakura-to-Enoshima area is one of my favorite places to visit as a Kanto Region resident. I don't surf, if that helps.

You can Also consider Yuigahama beach,zushi beach, kamakura seaside park etc

You can Also consider Yuigahama beach,zushi beach, kamakura seaside park etc

It's not practical to walk from/to those places to/from Enoshima.

Your perception of the beach will depend on whether you have visited beaches before. Where I come from the beaches are all golden. So the beaches around Kamakara with a mix of black and gold sand can look dirty.

If you have never been to many beaches before rhis may not effect you. I still found it a nice walk.

as mentioned by Uco, the enoshima train is a really fun ride, it is worth travelling in it just for the views and the way it snakes around the buildings. The Shonan monorail is worth a trip as well, at least for those of us not used to public transport.

Kamakura and Enoshima are great places, you'll have a lot of fun.

I've spent a lot of time on the Shonan coast, and I don't think I'd consider Shichirigahama's beach to be a particularly pleasant section of it. As you can see here, it's pretty muddy/rocky:

https://www.google.com/maps/@35.305103,139.509788,3a,75y,306.99h,93.16...

If you want to combine beach time with a visit to Enoshima island, there's a nice beach on the mainland right where the connecting bride to the island starts. "Nice" here is going by east Japan standards, so don't expect sparkling clear water or soft powdery white sand, but it's nice enough, and definitely nicer than Shichirigahama's beach.

Just my opinion of course, but the beaches in the east part of Shonan (basically anything from Enoshima to Zushi) are all pretty gross. Every time I go they are either dirty, or full of annoying 20 year olds, or both. In my view it is not good as a seaside experience. The only place I find particularly pleasant is Inamuragasaki, but it is not a beach, it is a big rocky hill. Naturally, the nicer coastal destinations are the ones that aren't <60 minutes from Tokyo and urban Kanagawa.

Beaches in Japan, including the beaches in the east part of Shonan, are very different depending on the month of the year and the hour of the day. Once August is over and the swimmers' huts are torn down (which were hardly set up in the recent two years of the pandemic), things can be quite nice and slow. Especially after 4pm, the water gets too cold and even dangerous to be in, and you can typically enjoy a nice stroll along the shoreline with the sun setting over the sea and Mt. Fuji. The experienced surfers would always be there, and the more experienced the more well-mannered they are.

I tend to avoid the Shichirigahama area in mid-summer (I prefer Hayama), and visit during the cooler seasons instead. But this is just how I feel about it. Again, it depends on your definition of a nice beach.

Only Beach will not be your first priority. How Enoshima Looks Like.so you will buy shonan monorail 1 day pass=610 yen(ichi nichi Free kippu)

Uco,

What makes the Shonan coast beach dangerous? Does the cold temperature means that it is less than 10C or less than 20C? And are currents dangerous even if you go only as deep as your waist and weight 100 kg? For comparison, i would consider the sea water warm enough (at least in Estonia) if it is over 15 degrees.
At least in Shirahama near the Shimoda i did not felt any dangerous or strong current or wave power (mid april, 2018); compared to Varkala beach in India, where even when i was only in knee deep of sea, the approaching waves still had no problems to push me around as they wanted and seawater flowing back from waterline to sea had enough energy/power to take a careless kid or weaker person to the deeper water.

BR,
Lauri

Lauri,

I wasn't talking specifically about Shonan when I mentioned "dangerous". It's simply considered common sense to stay out of the sea after about 4pm in Japan. It's darker, colder, and the tide can get higher when nobody is watching over you any more.

And just to add, I don't know about the calm seas in Estonia (I've been there), but currents can be very tricky. I know a young skillful swimmer who tried to swim to a nearby rock and ended up half-way drowning before being saved by a fisherman's boat. I know a young islander who saw what he dropped under the clear water in mid-summer, and dove in only to regret it because it was getting darker and he almost felt himself getting a heart-attack. And even sea shores can suddenly get deep. So, if you go into the sea, be aware that it's different from a swimming pool and that it's basically forbidden in Japan to go into the sea when there is no guard on duty.

「Beaches in Japan, including the beaches in the east part of Shonan, are very different depending on the month of the year and the hour of the day.」

I agree that time of day and season make a big difference in the atmosphere, with later times in the day or colder parts of the year meaning smaller crowds (after sundown, most families have gone home. and most partiers have moved on to bars).

「full of annoying 20 year olds」

One person's "annoying" is another's "lively." But yes, most of the Shonan beaches in the summer do have a lot of college students/young adults who are there to party on weekends while the sun is out. This being Japan, you're unlikely to see fights or violence, but litter is an issue, and they can get noisy.

Oiso Beach kanagawa really Best