The are a mountain range straddling the border between
Gifu
is a Cities of Japan, city located in the south-central portion of Gifu Prefecture, Japan, and serves as the prefectural capital. The city has played an important role in Japan's history because of its location in the middle of the country. Durin ...
and
Mie prefectures in
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
. They form part of the western border of the
Nōbi Plain.
Geography
The Yōrō Mountains are approximately wide and long, running primarily from south-southwest to north-northeast. The northern section's highest peaks reach , and the southern section's reach . The group's tallest point is Mount Shō (笙ヶ岳 ''Shō-ga-dake''), but the main peaks are
Mount Yōrō in the north and Mount Tado (多度山 ''Tado-yama'') in the south.
Flora and fauna
A variety of
beech and
oak trees covers the Yōrō Mountains. The Japanese government has declared Mount Shō a
natural monument for its diverse plant life.
Major
mammal
A mammal () is a vertebrate animal of the Class (biology), class Mammalia (). Mammals are characterised by the presence of milk-producing mammary glands for feeding their young, a broad neocortex region of the brain, fur or hair, and three ...
s on the mountains include the
Japanese macaque
The Japanese macaque (''Macaca fuscata''), also known as the snow monkey, is a terrestrial Old World monkey species that is native to Japan. Colloquially, they are referred to as "snow monkeys" because some live in areas where snow covers the g ...
and
sika deer.
Places of interest
On the
Yōrō Line, between
Mino-Yamazaki Station and
Komano Station, on the side of Mt. Garyou, a
Buddhist
Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
temple was built by
Gyōki in 744 AD. It was originally called ''Temple of the Bodhisattva of Mt. Garyou''. It was burned down in 1336 during a war. In 1705 it was rebuilt by the Matsudaira nobility as their private temple and renamed ''Gyōkiji'' (Gyōki's Temple).
Near
Yōrō town, on the side of
Mount Yōrō, is the Yōrō waterfall and a large park with two special areas for children. There is also a hiking path to the top of the mountain.
Tado Shrine is near the town of Tado. There are hiking paths to the top of Mount Tado, which is 403 meters.
See also
*
Mount Yōrō
*
Geography of Japan
References
External links
"Color Yoro World"by Steven Kenworthy
Mountain ranges of Gifu Prefecture
Mountain ranges of Mie Prefecture
{{mie-geo-stub