Mt Nokogiri

So, we previously tried to do this hike a couple of years ago, but when we got there parts of it were closed due to a COVID emergency. The parts we did get to do were so pretty with an amazing peak view and big rock quaries which made me think of Lord of the Rings. So ever since then the rest of the hike has been on my bucket list. When the summer rains finally let up to give us a sunny Saturday we tried again with friends. And luckily we were able to see it all.

We started on the far side of the mountain from the temple and hiked up. There were more stairs than I remember but we had friends to motivaste us the whole way.

When we got to the top we were greeted by an impressive Buddha statue carved into the cliff.

Our next stop was Jigoku Nozoki, or the view of hell. While it was far to beautiful for me to consider it hell, it was a pretty high overhang if you are affraid of heights.

After the views from the top we headed down to the largest Buddha in Japan. It was beautiful, although I have to say I was a little more impressed by the Buddha on top. But it was a wonderful spot to have a picnic lunch and just relax.

Then we turned around and took a different trail back up the mountain to get back to our cars. On our way back we tooka detour to see the old quarries and lucky us we found cute itty bitty frogs...they were adorable, some still had their tails.

' On the way home we stopped at 7-eleven for ice cream...and it was so cute to see the kids sharing.

Crazy us, after hiking one mountain decided to hike Mt Takao the next day with my friends Hiroko and Michi. We hiked it with them last year and just wanted to do a repeat so we made it happen. Some of our kids were a bit grumpy about that choice, but to their credit they got over it and we had a fun hike.

When we got home, Jane helped me mow the lawn. I loved the help.