Mount Nokogiri (Chiba)

Mount Nokogiri (鋸山, Nokogiri-yama) literally "saw mountain" is a low mountain on the Bōsō Peninsula on Honshu, Japan. It lies on the southern border of the city of Futtsu and the town Kyonan in Awa District in Chiba Prefecture.

Mount Nokogiri
鋸山
Mount Nokogiri as seen from the northwest
Highest point
Elevation329.5 m (1,081 ft)
ListingList of mountains and hills of Japan by height
Coordinates35°9′37″N 139°50′27″E 
Naming
English translation(wood)saw mountain
Language of nameJapanese
Geography
LocationHonshu, Japan
Parent rangeBōsō Peninsula
Topo mapGeographical Survey Institute 25000:1 保田
50000:1 横須賀

The mountain runs east to west, having the characteristic sawtoothed profile of a Japanese saw (鋸, nokogiri). It falls steeply into Tokyo Bay on its western side, where it is pierced by two road tunnels and a rail tunnel, carrying the Uchibo Line south from Futtsu to Tateyama. Both features are due in part to the mountain's history as a stone quarry in the Edo period, the marks of which are still picturesquely evident.

The western side of the mountain is also the site of the sprawling Nihon-ji temple complex, which is the home of two Daibutsu sculptures - a huge seated carving of Yakushi Nyorai that at 31.05 metres (101.9 ft) tall is the largest pre-modern, stone-carved Daibutsu in Japan, and the "Hundred-shaku Kannon", a tall relief image of Kannon carved into one of the quarry walls - as well as 1500 hand-carved arhat sculptures, which combined with the spectacular scenery of the Bōsō Hills and Tokyo Bay, make Mount Nokogiri a popular tourism destination.

The temple is accessible by road and by a cable car, the Nokogiriyama Ropeway, which runs from Hamakanaya Station on the JR Uchibo Line to a lookout deck near the top of the temple precinct.

The western end of the mountain falls precipitously into Tokyo Bay, where Cape Myōgane (Japanese: 明鐘岬) is a good place to watch large ships pass through Uraga Channel at sunset.

Highlights
  • Mount Nokogiri (background) from Mount Iyogatake
  • Mount Nokogiri from Tokyo Bay
  • Nokogiriyama Ropeway
  • Nokogiriyama Ropeway Summit Station
  • Remains of Nokogiriyama Quarry
  • Nihonji Daibutsu (Yakushi Nyorai) (日本寺大仏, Nihon-ji Daibutsu))
  • "View of Hell" (地獄のぞき, Jigoku Nozoki)
  • Hundred-shaku Kannon (百尺観音, Hyaku-shaku Kannon)
  • 1,500 Arhat (千五百羅漢, Sen-Gohyaku Rakan)
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