A Winter Day Trip from Musashi-Kosugi to Nokogiriyama in Chiba by Marshall | Jabble Musashikosugi

While Jabble was on vacation for Christmas and New Year’s, my dad came to visit Japan.
One day, we decided to take a short trip to Nokogiriyama in Chiba, a famous mountain known for its massive stone carvings and incredible views.

I had been to Nokogiriyama before, but this time we were coming from Kanagawa, so one of my good friends kindly drove us from Kawasaki to Chiba via the Tokyo Bay Aqua-Line.
It’s a pretty long drive, so we stopped at Umihotaru, the floating rest stop in the middle of Tokyo Bay, to grab some coffee and take pictures.

Umihotaru was much cooler than I expected. There were lots of families eating lunch, shopping for souvenirs, and enjoying the sea-themed art displays.
One thing that really surprised me was that there was even a dog park and pet rest area.
There were dogs everywhere, and one woman was carefully posing her three little dachshunds for photos. They were incredibly cute.
The only downside was the weather. Even though it was a clear, sunny day, it was extremely windy and cold, so we couldn’t stay outside for very long.

After warming up with coffee and stretching our legs, we got back in the car and headed toward Nokogiriyama.
Unfortunately, we didn’t realize that during the busy season the mountain park closes at 3:30 p.m.
We were still able to see the huge statue carved into the side of the mountain, but we had to move quickly because the last ropeway car down was at 4:00 p.m.

Luckily, we just barely had enough time to visit the famous Hyaku-shaku Kannon statue and take some great photos from the top.
On the drive back, we were rewarded again with an amazing view!
We caught a beautiful sunset over Tokyo Bay and even managed to get some clear pictures of Mount Fuji from the Aqua-Line.

All in all, it was a great day, and I’m really glad my dad was able to experience such unique places while visiting Japan.
Trips like this are one of the biggest reasons I enjoy living and teaching here.
There are always beautiful and interesting places to see, even on a simple day trip from the Tokyo and Musashi-Kosugi area.

Musashikosugi校
Marshall

【日本人スタッフによる要約】

クリスマスと年末年始の休暇中に来日したお父さんと一緒に、神奈川・武蔵小杉から千葉県の鋸山へ日帰り旅行に出かけました。川崎から東京湾アクアラインを利用し、途中で海ほたるに立ち寄ってコーヒーや写真撮影を楽しみました。海ほたるには家族連れや観光客が多く、犬用スペースまであるのが印象的でしたが、風が強く寒かったため長居はできませんでした。

鋸山では閉園時間が早いことに気づかず少し慌てましたが、百尺観音などの見どころをなんとか見学し、山頂からの景色も楽しむことができました。帰り道には東京湾に沈む夕日や、アクアラインから見える富士山の美しい景色にも出会えました。東京・武蔵小杉エリアからでも、気軽に行ける魅力的な場所がたくさんあることを改めて実感した一日でした。