Shimokita-hanto Peninsula下北半島

The northernmost tip of Honshu. Its jagged landscape was created by powerful winds and crashing waves.

The axe-shaped Shimokita-hanto Peninsula is the northernmost tip of Honshu, facing the Pacific Ocean and the Tsugaru Strait, and is situated in the northeastern part of Aomori. This rugged land, both beautiful and dignified, is the creation of dynamic gales and severe raging waves.

Hotoke-ga-ura stretches out along the coastline, two kilometers between Fuku-ura and Ushitaki. The sequence of sheer cliffs is spectacular to see, and there is also a group of rather peculiar-looking pale rocks at Hotoke-ga-ura. Each rock somehow reminds one of Buddha—'hotoke' in Japanese—and this is the origin of the name of the place. Mt. Osore-zan is where it is said that the souls of the dead gather. The whole area smells of sulfur, and there are few signs of vegetation. Everywhere you look, it is gray. Therefore, the area has become an imaginary hell. There are many make-believe items from hell that are created in the precincts of Osore-zan Bodai-ji Temple, such as Sai-no-kawara (shores of the river to hell), where the smell of sulfur steaming up from the ground fills the air.

There are a number of scenic spots in the Shimokita-hanto Peninsula, such as Cape Oma, which is the northernmost promontory, and Cape Shiriya, where the chalky lighthouse stands gracefully. Meet northernmost wild Japanese monkeys in Wakinosawa or appreciate the beauty of the Yagen Valley and the Kawauchi-gawa Gorge.