Tojinbo is good for a change after visiting Eiheiji, a Zen temple and dogo embraced by the mountain green. These two places are close enough to each other and make a good combination for a day tour.
Tojinbo, a group of rugged cliffs, faces Japan Sea. Most of the visitors love to feel scared, looking down on the water 25 meters below from the edge of the cliff.
However, there might be a small number of visitors who are interested in rocks themselves. About 12 to 13 million years ago, volcanic activities were rampant and lava spewed out to flow into the strata of sedimentary rocks, where it cooled down and became solid. Over time raging waves of Japan Sea eroded the cliffs and the volcanic rocks reappeared on the surface. These rocks show pentagon or hexagon shaped columnar joints of pyroxene andesite which were formed as the lava cooled down. Tojinbo is said to be one of the few places where this kind of rocks are observed in such a large scale.
Local legend has it that Tojinbo, a very violet and mean Buddhist monk loathed by his fellows, was pushed out of the cliff to death. His angry spirit didn’t leave the sea and it was always incredibly stormy on the day of his death, April 5th, every year until finally his spirit was soothed by a prayer of a master monk.
Tojinbo, a group of rugged cliffs, faces Japan Sea. Most of the visitors love to feel scared, looking down on the water 25 meters below from the edge of the cliff.
However, there might be a small number of visitors who are interested in rocks themselves. About 12 to 13 million years ago, volcanic activities were rampant and lava spewed out to flow into the strata of sedimentary rocks, where it cooled down and became solid. Over time raging waves of Japan Sea eroded the cliffs and the volcanic rocks reappeared on the surface. These rocks show pentagon or hexagon shaped columnar joints of pyroxene andesite which were formed as the lava cooled down. Tojinbo is said to be one of the few places where this kind of rocks are observed in such a large scale.
Local legend has it that Tojinbo, a very violet and mean Buddhist monk loathed by his fellows, was pushed out of the cliff to death. His angry spirit didn’t leave the sea and it was always incredibly stormy on the day of his death, April 5th, every year until finally his spirit was soothed by a prayer of a master monk.