Ushiku Daibutsu

What?
Ushiku Daibutsu (牛久大仏) is a huge statue towering 120 meter high (including foundation) of Amida Buddha. It’s possible to enter the buddha and around the statue there is a small park and petting zoo.
Where?
Ushiku Daibutsu is located in southern Ibaraki Prefecture. Get off at Ushiku Station (牛久駅), head for the east exit and take the bus at stop nr. 2. From there it’s a little more than half an hour before the bus stops right at the foot of the giant statue. Ushiku Station can easily be reached from Tokyo.
URL
Ibaraki Guide Zooming Japan

2 years ago when I was visiting Sendai I climbed the AER building and had a great view over the surroundings. And that’s where I saw it: this enormous giant Buddha statue far off in the distance. Building a religious symbol that large kind of scared but also fascinated me. Some sects in Japan have a strange philosophy, but they build some seriously impressive landmarks.
I had no clue which statue this was so after a bit of research I concluded that it had to be Sendai Daikannon, 100 meters high. In my research though I also stumbled upon Ushiku Daibutsu, 120 meters high and located in Ibaraki Prefecture. So when I decided to travel a bit around in Ibaraki, Ushiku Daibutsu would be my last stop before I would return to Ibaraki Airport.

While the big statue is of course the main attraction, the income tickets include access to a very nice little park, pond and petting zoo. A ticket to enter the buddha will cost you extra though. The park was really quiet and well-kept and I enjoyed reading a book on one of the many benches. But before that I of course entered the statue.
It’s impossible to go all the way of the head, so the highest point that you can use for vistas is the torso. While going up with the elevator the staff turns off the lights which makes the first room you see when the doors open fairly impressive. A small buddha statue surrounded by color-changing holograph like visuals truly made for an ethereal experience. The whole floor was lit in bright yet shadowy colors and it was a pity that the exhibition space that followed was rather bland – but it had interesting information about the size and construction of the Buddha. Passing that area you get to the lookout area in the torso, but truth to be told, the very small windows didn’t leave much to admire. After this area you arrive at a few places where you can meditate, buy your own little protector buddha or even just relax. Most people that were there when I visited exited the Buddha after these points, but a very well hidden door lets you get out on top of the pedestal on which the Daibutsu stands. Although very much lower than the viewing platforms inside the torso, the view from this pedestal was way more beautiful and appeasing. As I was the only one making use of the door I kind of wondered whether I wasn’t doing anything illegal, but visitors can even buy golden seals to paste on the Daibutsu. So definitely don’t forget to check out the top of the pedestal before you exit the statue!

Ushiku Daibutsu

When the elevator doors open.

You can buy your own small statue and put inside the buddha.

All in all the Ushiku Daibutsu is a fairly interesting place to wander around. The statue itself is impressive, the inside has some really interesting atmosphere and the little park is great to take a rest.
A nice closer for my Ibaraki trip.