is a

private railway A private railway is a railroad run by a private business entity (usually a corporation but not need be), as opposed to a railroad run by a public sector. Japan In Japan, , commonly simply ''private railway'', refers to a public transit railway o ...

operator in

Kanagawa is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the List of Japanese prefectures by population, second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-dens ...

, Japan. Its sole line, the Enoshima Dentetsu Line, connects Kamakura Station in

Kamakura , officially , is a city of Kanagawa Prefecture in Japan. It is located in the Kanto region on the island of Honshu. The city has an estimated population of 172,929 (1 September 2020) and a population density of 4,359 people per km2 over the tota ...

with

Fujisawa Station is an interchange passenger railway station located in the city of Fujisawa, Kanagawa, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and the private railway operators Odakyu Electric Railway and Enoshima Electric Railway. Clustered aro ...

in Fujisawa. Both the company and line are known by the abbreviation . The railway is fully owned by the

Odakyu Group The is a group of companies centered around the Odakyu Electric Railway company based in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan. The group originated as a rail transport operator, but has since diversified its operations to include real estate, retail, Business- ...

Route and operations

The line is long and has a

rail gauge In rail transport, track gauge is the distance between the two rails of a railway track. All vehicles on a rail network must have wheelsets that are compatible with the track gauge. Since many different track gauges exist worldwide, gauge dif ...

of . It is single-track; however, five of the route's fifteen stations are equipped with

passing loop A passing loop (UK usage) or passing siding (North America) (also called a crossing loop, crossing place, refuge loop or, colloquially, a hole) is a place on a single line railway or tramway, often located at or near a station, where trains o ...

s, allowing for the operation of bi-directional traffic. Included in the route is a short () section of

street running A street running train is a train which runs on a track built on public streets. The rails are embedded in the roadway, and the train shares the street with other users, such as pedestrians, cars and cyclists, thus often being referred to as ru ...

between and stations. However, the entire line is governed under the of the

Japanese government The Government of Japan is the central government of Japan. It consists of legislative, executive and judiciary branches and functions under the framework established by the Constitution of Japan. Japan is a unitary state, containing forty- ...

, being granted an exception to allow for street running (the only other examples of street-running 'railways' being the

Keihan Keishin Line The is an interurban partially-street running railway line in Japan operated by the private railway operator Keihan Electric Railway. The line connects Misasagi Station in Kyoto and Biwako-hamaotsu Station in the neighbouring city of Ōtsu ...

Keihan Ishiyama-Sakamoto Line The is a railway line in Shiga Prefecture, Japan, operated by the private railway operator Keihan Electric Railway. Stations History The Otsu Railway opened the Hamaotsu to Awazu section in 1913, electrified at 600 V DC. The line was extend ...

and the

Kumamoto Electric Railway The is a public transport company in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. It is abbreviated as or . The company was founded in 1909. The company operates railway and bus lines. Lines * Kikuchi Line (菊池線) ** Kami-Kumamoto — Kita-Kumamoto ...

). Trains are electrically powered from 600 V DC overhead lines. Stations en route include , the stop closest to

Kōtoku-in is a Buddhist temples in Japan, Buddhist temple of the Jōdo-shū sect in the city of Kamakura in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Its mountain name is , and its common temple name is . The temple is renowned for , a monumental outdoor bronze stat ...

, and , which has appeared in a number of films, anime, manga, and TV shows.

Stations

The entire line is located in Kanagawa Prefecture.

Rolling stock

, Enoden operates a fleet of 15 two-car

electric multiple unit An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple-unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number o ...

(EMU) train types as shown below. File:Enoden305 01.jpg, 300 series set 305 in 2005 File:EnodenT500.jpg, 500 series

Future rolling stock

* 700 series The 700 series will be the first new trains for Enoden in around 20 years. These are set to replace the six 1000 series sets dating back to 1979.

Former rolling stock

* 500 series File:Enoden EMU 502 19920411.JPG, Original 500 series set 502 in April 1992

Buses

Enoden also operates bus service in the area.

History

The original Enoshima Electric Railway opened the line on 1 September 1902. The company subsequently went through a series of ownership changes: Yokohama Electric Railway Co. in 1911, Tokyo Electric Power Co. in 1921, (second) Enoshima Electric Railway Co. in 1926, Tokyu Corporation in 1938, Enoshima Kamakura Tourist Co. in 1949, and Odakyu Electric Railway Co. in 1953. The (third) Enoshima Electric Railway Co. was formed on 1 September 1981 as a subsidiary of Odakyu.

Popular culture

Gokurakuji Station is one of the settings for the 2015 film ''

Our Little Sister is a 2015 Japanese drama film written, directed and edited by Hirokazu Kore-eda and based on Akimi Yoshida's manga series '' Umimachi Diary''. It stars Haruka Ayase, Masami Nagasawa, Kaho and Suzu Hirose. The film follows three sisters living in ...

''. Japanese alternative rock band

Asian Kung-Fu Generation (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese alternative rock band formed in Yokohama in 1996. For its entire career, the band has consisted of vocalist Masafumi Gotoh, guitarist Kensuke Kita, bassist Takahiro Yamada (musician), Takahiro Yamada, and dr ...

's fifth studio album, ''

Surf Bungaku Kamakura is the fifth studio album released by the Japanese rock band Asian Kung-Fu Generation, released on November 5, 2008. The album peaked at the second position on both the Oricon charts and ''Billboard Japan''. Its lead single, " Fujisawa Loser" m ...

'' (released 2008), had each track named after a stop on the railway line starting with Fujisawa and ending with Kamakura. The band has since announced a continuation of this album for the rest of the stations that did not originally have a song, starting with''Yanagikōji Parallel Universe'' releasing as a B-side track in 2022.

Anime

The Enoshima Electric Railway and its rolling stock painted in the company's green-and-yellow colours have made numerous appearances in Japanese animated series, including those adapted from

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

and

light novel A is a type of Genre fiction, popular literature novel from Japan usually classified as young adult fiction, generally targeting Adolescence, teens to Young adult, twenties or older. The definition is very vague, and wide-ranging. The abbr ...

series such as: * ''

Slam Dunk A slam dunk, also simply known as a dunk, is a type of basketball shot that is performed when a player jumps in the air, controls the ball above the horizontal plane of the rim, and scores by shoving the ball directly through the basket with on ...

'' (1993) * ''

Sweet Blue Flowers is a Japanese yuri manga series written and illustrated by Takako Shimura. It was serialized between November 2004 and July 2013 in Ohta Publishing's manga magazine '' Manga Erotics F'', with its chapters collected in eight ''tankōbon'' v ...

'' (2009) * '' A Channel'' (2011) * ''

Tsuritama , sometimes written as ''tsuritama'', is a Japanese anime television series that aired between 13 April 2012 and 28 June 2012. The anime was licensed by Sentai Filmworks in North America, by MVM Films in the United Kingdom, and Hanabee in Au ...

'' (2012) * ''

Tari Tari ''Tari Tari'' is a 2012 Japanese anime television series produced by P.A. Works, written and directed by Masakazu Hashimoto. The series aired in Japan between July 1 and September 23, 2012, on TV Kanagawa, and was also simulcast by Crunchyrol ...

'' (2012) * '' Ping Pong: The Animation'' (2014) * ''

Hanayamata is a Japanese manga series by Sou Hamayumiba. It was serialized in Houbunsha's ''seinen'' manga magazine ''Manga Time Kirara Forward'' from April 2011 to February 2018, with its chapters collected in ten ''tankōbon'' volumes. An anime te ...

'' (2014) * ''

Myriad Colors Phantom World is a Japanese fantasy light novel series written by Sōichirō Hatano and illustrated by Shirabi. The series, set in the future Kamigyo ward, an accidental release of an unstable virus caused an epidemic that alters the human brain, leading ...

'' (2016) * ''

Minami Kamakura High School Girls Cycling Club is a Japanese manga series by Noriyuki Matsumoto, serialized in Mag Garden's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Monthly Comic Blade'' since August 2011. It has been collected in nine ''tankōbon'' volumes. A 13-episode anime television series adapt ...

'' (2017) * ''

Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai ''Rascal Does Not Dream'', known in Japan as or , is a Japanese light novel series written by Hajime Kamoshida and illustrated by Kēji Mizoguchi. ASCII Media Works published fifteen volumes from April 2014 to October 2024 under their De ...

'' (2018) * '' Super Cub'' (2021)

Video games

* Enoden's railway line is simulated its entirety in the train simulator arcade game '' Densha de Go! Ryojōhen''.

References

This article incorporates material from the corresponding article in the Japanese Wikipedia.

External links

* {{Authority control 1067 mm gauge railways in Japan Japanese companies established in 1900 Companies based in Kanagawa Prefecture Railway companies established in 1900 Rail transport in Kanagawa Prefecture Tram transport in Japan 600 V DC railway electrification Street running