Mount Osore 3.16

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 Tohoku region of northern Japan. The temple is located in the caldera of an active volcano and is believed in Japanese mythology to be one of the gates to the underworld.Mount Osore volcanoThe mountain is one peak of the Osozezan Mountain Range, a series of eight somma volcanos ranging from east to west in the centre of Shimokita Peninsula. Mount Osore has a height of 879m. Although Mount Osore last erupted over 10,000 years ago, the area has many fumaroles emitting steam and/or volcanic gases (especially sulfur dioxide) indicating that it is still an active volcano. Lake Usori is a caldera lake at the center of Mount Osore, with highly acidic waters.During the Meiji period, sulphur deposits in the area were exploited, partly to meet the demand for gunpowder production by the growing Japanese military; however the deposits were not economical to mine due to the remoteness of the site and the increasing availability of sulphur as a byproduct of petroleum refining.