Elevation 329.5 m (1,081 ft) Parent range Bōsō Peninsula | Location Honshu, Japan | |
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Translation (wood)saw mountain (Japanese) Topo map Geographical Survey Institute 25000:1 保田
50000:1 横須賀 | ||
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.
Map of Mount Nokogiri, Kanaya, Futtsu, Chiba Prefecture 299-1861, Japan
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.