Saturday 19 September 2015

Looking down into Hell at Nokogiriyama

Gondola number 1, Kamome (seagull), Nokogiriyama Ropeway (aerial tramway)

Nokogiriyama (Mt. Saw) is a small mountain in Boso Peninsula, Chiba Prefecture, about 110 km southeast of Tokyo. As its name suggests, Nokogiriyama has saw-like jaggy rocks on its ridge line. They are tuffaceous rocks deposited around two million years ago that are famous as building material, called Boshu-seki (Boso Domain stone). The quarrying was started in the Edo Period (1603-1868) and continued until 1982, when the environmental protection regulation was enhanced.

Today, the ex-quarry is open to the public as a unique sightseeing spot. Specifically, an over-hanging rock, called "Jigoku-nozoki (looking down into hell)", is popular among tourists. If you stand on Jigoku-nozoki and look down into the deep valley, you will see the hell, which is really thrilling.

To get to this unique spot, Nokogiriyama Ropeway is convenient. Nokogiriyama Ropeway is an aerial tramway opened that in 1962. Connecting Nokogiriyama-sanroku (mountain foot of Nokogiriyama) and Nokogiriyama-sancho (summit of Nokogiriyama) stations, its route length is 680 m. The height difference between the two stations is 223 m. It takes about 4 minutes to go one way. The operation interval is about 15 minutes.

The present gondolas are third generation ones built in 2012 by CWA, Switzerland. They are yellow colored gondola number 1, Kamome (seagull), and red colored gondola number 2, Chidori (plover). Each gondola can hold up to 28 passengers. The yellow and red colored bodies are very vivid against the green forest.

Visit the saw mountain and look down into hell!

"Jigoku-nozoki (looking down into hell)" near Nokogiriyama-sancho Station

Official information about Nokogiriyama Ropeway:
Official area map of Mt. Nokogiri: