![[Awa District, Chiba Prefecture] A great touring spot to visit by motorcycle | Mt. Nokogiri, where you can enjoy magnificent](https://motopeek.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/3783-1760876440753.jpg)
The mountaintop observation deck offers a magnificent view of Tokyo Bay and the townscape of Kanaya in Futtsu City.
Mount Nokogiri (Nokogiriyama) has long been known as a tourist destination in Uchibo. The title photo shows the summit of Mount Nokogiri, known as “Hell’s View.” It’s
easily accessible from Tokyo and Kanagawa. For example, if you take the Aqualine, the Higashi-Kanto Expressway Tateyama Line from Kisarazu-Kanata Interchange is about 43 km away. At normal speeds, it takes less than 40 minutes. Alternatively, you can take the Uchibo Nagisa Line (National Route 127) and arrive in just an hour and a few minutes. Taking the Tokyo Bay Ferry from Kurihama in Yokosuka City to Kanaya Port on the Chiba side, it’s just under 5 km away, about 10 minutes away.
The coordinates and address data shown below are for the “Municipal Nippon-ji East Entrance Parking Lot,” located east of Mount Nokogiri Nippon-ji Temple. We recommend parking your motorcycle here and enjoying the view on foot. This is because the toll road (Mount Nokogiri Tozan Expressway), which allows four-wheeled vehicles, does not allow two-wheeled vehicles.
The easiest way to reach the summit of Mt. Nokogiri (329m above sea level) is by ropeway (650 yen one way), but it is closed during the winter (until February 15th). We recommend shedding your winter gear and relying on your strong legs for a hike. Although it’s been selected as one of Japan’s top 100 low mountains, information sites claim the hiking trail has a total of 2,639 steps. It’s best to visit before the temperature gets too high. For preliminary information,
check out the “Chiba Tourism Navigator” and the “Mt. Nokogiri Nihonji Temple Website” below. You can admire many stone statues, from the principal image, the Great Buddha of Medicine, Yakushi Ruriko Nyorai (Buddha Buddha), to the Hyakushaku Kannon statue at the summit. The dynamic rock formations of the former quarry and the seasonal flowers, as well as the view from the summit observation deck, are spectacular. (*A 700 yen admission fee is required for the observation climb)
Additionally, if you go down the mountain, you will find Roadside Station Hota Elementary School on your right after turning left after exiting Kyonan Hota Interchange, so you will have no trouble finding a place to rest. The place also offers accommodation and hot spring bathing facilities. You can also park your bike right next to the water’s edge at Hota Beach, which is a popular swimming spot in the summer. It is also recommended to set it as one of your touring destinations. If you have the time, you can enjoy an even more refreshing trip by staying overnight somewhere and touring the route around Tateyama in Minami Boso, where spring arrives early.
Many stairs, suitable for those with good walking skills
You can see the remains of the stoneworks where Boso stone was quarried.
181-1 Motona, Minamimachi, Awa-gun, Chiba Prefecture (Approx. 7 minutes by car/approx. 3km from Yasuda Station on the JR Uchibo Line)
Great Buddha (Yakushi Nyorai) Square is located close to the East Exit Parking Lot.
It took six years to complete the Hyakushaku Kannon in 1966. It is approximately 30 meters tall.
The view of Tokyo Bay is magnificent.
Tokyo Bay, which offers a panoramic view, is famous for being crowded with many shipping lanes, and you can see many ships passing by on the deep blue waters.
Nokogiriyama Japanese Temple website
URL: nihonji.jp
Chiba Tourism Navi (Chiba Prefecture Tourism and Products Association)
URL: maruchiba.jp/feature/detail_108.html
Hota Beach has a parking lot that you can access right up to the coast. In the summer, it’s bustling with people swimming in the sea.
Roadside Station Yasuda Elementary School. It is known as a good example of a refurbished facility that has literally been repurposed from the site of an abandoned school.
