Yesterday I escaped city life and ran for the hills with two of my friends, Drew and Azri. We spent a very long day scaling Mount Nokogiri in Chiba. Bright and bushy-tailed, we met at 9:30AM at Tokyo station before taking numerous lengthy trains to our designated station, Hama-Kanaya. It was just gone midday when we began our ascent up the mountain.

• 

• 

Mount Nokogiri literally translates to saw mountain, which is reflective of its use as a stone quarry during the Edo period. For hundreds of years, the mountain was chiseled into and what’s left of it looks like a giant stone jenga puzzle. It’s incredible to think that the men of the town were able to do so without modern-day machinery, and what’s even more incredible is that the women then carried all of the stone down the mountain in wheelbarrows, where it was later shipped to Tokyo Bay. Honestly, we struggled getting up there just with a few belongings on our backs so I can’t imagine how laborious this must have been.

Anyway we powered on and made it to the observation deck at the top in just a short hour or so. Not to blow my own trumpet but alongside the breath-taking views and all-round fun of the adventure, the main highlight was the surprising realisation that I was the fastest walker of the group. Those who have accompanied me around the shire with lovely mum’s Thursday morning walking group (slash anyone who has ever attempted to lure me into some form of exercise) know all too well that it is a rare occasion that I am the leader of the pack. Nevertheless, it was an unexpected gold medal for Team GB as I raced to the summit, leaving Drew (USA) and Azri (AUS) clambering in the dust for second and third place.

We were mightily rewarded for our efforts with the panoramic views that ensued. On clear days, you can get a glimpse of Mount Fuji although this wasn’t possible yesterday. Once we’d taken a few pictures, munched on crisps and eaten some homemade brownies (alla me), we ploughed on.

Next on the tour of the mountain was the 33-metre tall kannon, the Goddess of Mercy. Carved into the cliff in 1966, it is dedicated to those who died in wars, of sickness or in accidents.

Somewhere nearby was supposedly the largest daibutsu (Buddha statue) in Japan although we took the hike a little too leisurely and ran out of time for this one. I’ll have to go back for this it seems. Nevertheless, we did get a look at many of the 1,553 arhats (small Buddha statues) that line the nooks and crannies of the mountain for which Ono Jingoro Eirei, the same artisan who carved the daibutsu, is responsible. During the nationwide anti-Buddhist movement of the 19th century, when Shintoism became the forerunner of religion in Japan, many of these statues were beheaded. The statues have since undergone renovations although many now have much newer-looking heads compared with their bodies.

It was onwards and upwards for the climbers who scaled the mountain a few more times (sometimes purposefully and sometimes because we took the wrong route) until we reached the next viewpoint, Jigoku Nozoki, aka Hell Lookout. The picture is self-explanatory for this one.

Anyway, it got to about four o’clock and we took the ropeway down from the top of the mountain back into the town. Whilst outbound we took the train from Tokyo all the way to Chiba, we decided a ferry trip over to Yokohama would be a more fun return trip. We set sail at half past five, and crossed the bay as the sun set. From Yokohama, it was an easy return to Tokyo and we exhaustedly ambled home.

It was a beautiful and fun-filled day out. In terms of blog post quality, it seems like a good idea to take trips with people who have significantly better camera phones than me. For the excellent pictures, you can thank Azri for his iPhone 11. Also thanks to Drew for planning a very fun day out. Ten out of ten, would recommend.