is a series of rock formations along the sea cliffs on the west coast of Shimokita Peninsula at the entrance to

Mutsu Bay is a bay located within Aomori Prefecture, in the northern Tōhoku region of northern Japan. It has an east-west distance of approximately and a north-south distance of approximately at its eastern end, with a total area of approximately . ...

in far northern

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. These rock formations were designed a Natural Monument of Aomori Prefecture in 1934, and became further protected from April 23, 1941 as a nationally designated Place of Scenic Beauty and

Natural Monument A natural monument is a natural or natural/cultural feature of outstanding or unique value because of its inherent rarity, representative of aesthetic qualities or cultural significance. Under World Commission on Protected Areas guidelines, na ...

, From 1968, the rock formations were also located within the borders of the

Shimokita Hantō Quasi-National Park is a quasi-national park in the Shimokita Peninsula of Aomori Prefecture in the Tōhoku region of far northern Honshū in Japan. It is rated a protected landscape (category V) according to the IUCN. The park, consists of several discontinuou ...

. In 1975, the surrounding waters were designated as Hotokegaura Marine Park.

Overview

These natural wave-eroded formations are made from green volcanic

tuff Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption. Following ejection and deposition, the ash is lithified into a solid rock. Rock that contains greater than 75% ash is considered tuff, while rock cont ...

, with a height of approximately and extend for a stretch of coastline in the village of Sai,

Aomori Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan in the Tōhoku region. The prefecture's capital, largest city, and namesake is the city of Aomori. Aomori is the northernmost prefecture on Japan's main island, Honshu, and is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the east, ...

. Individual features have been named for figures in

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

theology, and were popularised by the poet and mountaineer Omachi Keigetsu (1869-1925) after his visit in September 1922, although the area had been well-known since the

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...

at part of the pilgrimage route to

Mount Osore is the name of a Buddhist temple and folk religion pilgrimage destination in the center of remote Shimokita Peninsula of Aomori Prefecture, in the northern Tōhoku region of northern Japan. The temple is located in the caldera of an active volca ...

. The area is difficult to reach overland despite its proximity to Japan National Route 338, and tourist boats depart from the village of Sai or the city of Mutsu from April through October. In 1991, a small jetty was constructed for the purpose of berthing a sightseeing boat

Gallery

File:仏ヶ浦 - panoramio (2).jpg, Panorama File:Renge-iwa, Hotokegaura.JPG, Rock formations File:Keigetsu Omachi monument.JPG, Monument to Omachi Keigetsu

References

* ''Teikoku's Complete Atlas of Japan'', Teikoku-Shoin Co., Ltd. Tokyo 1990,

External links

Hotokegaura homepage

Notes

Tourist attractions in Aomori Prefecture Geography of Aomori Prefecture Sai, Aomori Places of Scenic Beauty Natural monuments of Japan IUCN Category III {{Aomori-geo-stub

Overview

See also

Gallery

References

External links

Notes