It’s hard to believe it but the end of my trip to Japan is nearly upon us! We really had one day left of adventures before I had to pack up and fly back over the Pacific Ocean back to California. There was one big adventure that we had talked about throughout my entire stay in Japan that we still had to hit. This was a visit to a Daibutsu on Mount Nokogiriyama on Chiba’s Boso Peninsula. With the end of the trip almost upon us, we decided we should just go for it.
The trip to Chiba would end up being a much bigger undertaking than we initially planned. This led to a much longer and more exhausting day. However, it was still awesome. It also means that this would be a ridiculously long blog post so I’m going to split the day in half. So let’s get into the first half, shall we?
The adventures for the day began before the day and with multiple weather checks. This was due to the wind and the waves it caused for the ferry that we would be using to cross over to Chiba. We could drive but ferries are so much more fun, right!? We also figured that since the ropeway wasn’t running, we’d want the car. We had been checking for a couple of days and it looked like if we left early enough, we should be able to make the trip happen.
We got up early on the morning of our adventure to Chiba and headed to the ferry terminal, which really wasn’t that far away. Along the way, we stopped at 7-11 for coffee and breakfast. This was an excellent choice. We soon found ourselves in a rather small line of cars to drive onto the ferry to take us across to Chiba. As we waited, we found out that there was some concern about the weather impacting the ferry schedule throughout the day. It looked like we should be able to get across to Chiba but they weren’t sure about the return trip later in the day. At this point, we were thankful that we were driving onto the ferry in case we needed to drive back later in the day.
After a short wait, we were directed to drive aboard the ferry. Our ferry was a black ferry with reddish-orange trim. There were not a lot of cars on it. After parking the car, we climbed up to the top deck so we could enjoy the trip across the bay. Within a few minutes, the ferry was pulling away. We could see other boats and ships in the little harbor weren’t going anywhere. As we moved away from the dock, it became apparent why. It was REALLY windy!
As we headed out beyond the confines of the harbor, the wind was joined by waves and the ferry bobbed in the water. In the distance behind us, Mount Fuji could be seen. It was difficult to get a photo of it, however, as the deck really was quite unsteady. I tend to be fairly comfortable on boats, even when in rough seas. However, getting this photo was a challenge.
Soon we found things getting calmer again as we arrived at the ferry dock on the other side of the bay. We drove off the ferry onto a small road that wound its way first around the coast and then up into the mountains, specifically up Mount Nokogiriyama. This was a beautiful drive, albeit a little disconcerting with the wind buffeting the car. We kept driving higher and higher until we eventually pulled into a parking lot that seemed to be in the middle of a jungle. Our car was the only car in the parking lot. The only other vehicle was an RV.
We hopped out of the car and began the first of what would be many climbs of the day. A trail led us up a hill and through the woods. We eventually came around a corner and initially, I noticed a booth where I could get my Goshuincho stamped. As I came further around the corner, I saw what we really were there for.
I stopped and immediately started snapping pictures like crazy. In front of me was a Daibutsu, quite literally a Big Buddha. It was massive! It was apparently the work of over three years that began in 1780. It also stood 31 metres tall, or nearly 102 feet! It is hard to describe how impressive this was.
Only two other people were looking at the Daibutsu when we arrived. They were an older couple, presumably connected to the RV. They soon departed and we had the entire area to ourselves. Many more pictures were taken.
Eventually, Christy said there was more to see and we resumed our climb. It turns out we were only halfway up the mountain and there was more to see! We continued to climb…and climb… and climb… and climb… Eventually, we found ourselves making our way through what I’m going to call a big crack in the mountain. This felt like something right out of an Indiana Jones film. This felt even more apropos when we arrived at the end of this path where there was a big statue carved into the rock wall. It was a 30-meter tall Hyaku-Shaku Kannon. This was a depiction of the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy. At this point, I fully expected a man with a fedora and leather jacket to walk out of the jungle and up to this statue. There wasn’t a person in sight at this point and it really was incredible.
We then made our way back through the crack into the mountain and continued on with more climbing… both up and down. I was warned at the beginning of this trip that there are a lot of stairs in Japan. That was the biggest understatement I think I’ve ever heard. I will say I was thankful for all of these stairs as just climbing up and down the side of a mountain without the stairs would have been harder. However, this day was a LOT of climbing!
Our next stop on the mountain was a section of pathways along the side of the mountain where 1500 statues of Buddhist disciples had been carved. It appears that this took about 20 years and was done by the same master artisan who carved the Daibutsu. There were statues of all sorts of different sizes and shapes that were carved into the rocks and caves on the side of the mountain. As we made our way around the side of the mountain we just kept finding more of these statues.
Eventually, we found stairs and began descending back toward the parking lot. We again stopped at the Daibutsu for more photos. As we climbed further down the mountain toward the parking lot, we made a quick detour to check out more of the temple complex. There was one temple that was smaller and still accessible. Another was under construction/refurbishment and looked like it would be beautiful when completed.
At the furthest point in this little detour, there was a lovely old lake with stone bridges across it. This looked like it could have been something out of The Lord of the Rings and it was very peaceful. As I think back about this location, I can’t help but think of how it was almost like what I would expect Lothlórien to be like. After a few more photos, we made our way back to the car.
At this point, the wind had not subsided. In fact, it might have only gotten stronger. We also learned that the ferry was no longer running for the rest of the day. Because of this, we would have to drive back through Tokyo. What originally had been planned to be the end of our trip for the day ended up being just the end of the first chapter of the day. The second chapter would have us visiting Tokyo, but I will save that for the next post!
What did you think of our adventure to Mount Nokogiriyama? Have you been there before? Share your thoughts and opinions in the comments below! Then keep your eyes open for when I post about a very interesting experience in Tokyo!
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