Ushiku Daibutsu
A big hi and hello to everyone. Just in case you are wondering who on earth I am, I am an Indonesian who work in Japan. I've been in Japan since two years ago. Photography is my hobby and I love photographing just about anything under the sky. I am going to share you some of the photos that I took in Japan. I try not to show you some usual famous place (like Akihabara, Shinjuku, Shibuya, etc) because I believe you've seen a lot already. Instead of that, I am going to share you some of the places that people usually don't know. Let's start with the big Buddha.
When we talk about big Buddha, the famous Kamakura Daibutsu comes in mind. But, when it comes to the size, the enormous size of Ushiku Daibutsu is unparalleled.
Located in Ibaraki Prefecture is Ushiku Daibutsu, the tallest statue in Japan. With the height of 120 meters, it is the third tallest statue in the world.
In order to go there, you need to a take train to 牛久 (Ushiku) Station. It takes around one hour from Tokyo to Ushiku Station. From there, you need to take the bus for around 20 minutes. There are two kind of buses. One that goes directly to the statue (500 yen), and one that stops on every terminal (660 yen). You have to be careful with the bus schedule. It comes once every 35 minutes, so plan carefully.
You could immediately see the statue from a far. There are two tickets available, the 500 yen and 800 yen ticket. I recommend you to buy the 800 yen ticket which allows you to get inside the Buddha.
Some souvenir shops waiting for you before the entrance.
One thing you will notice when you get inside is the huge Buddha's head.
You could throw some coins for the blessing. Japan is probably the only place where the money still remains until the end of the day.
You can see how tall it is from this photo. It's unbelievably tall. The base high is 10m and the lotus platform is also 10m.
This statue was completed by Kawada Industries in 1993. Let's hope they built it strong enough to withstand the earthquakes and typhoons.
You could get inside the Buddha by showing your 800 yen ticket. You need to take off your shoes before you can get inside. Using the elevator, you could get to its chest (85 meters above the ground). Inside the statue, you could see pictures of how they built the statue.
The 1:1 Scale toe.
You can see in comparison how big the statue is.
If you have trouble picturing it, you could see how big it is from this photo.
Close to the statue is a small zoo where you can touch and play around with the animals.
Couldn't resist taking photo of this cat.
Instead of Kamakura's Buddha, you should go see the Ushiku Daibutsu. It is sad to see that this place is so underrated.
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Truly amazing. Thank you for sharing these photos!
I'm more interested in the zoo! :3c
Great photos!
Ah, that Buddha. Was meaning to make a trip to see it a few months ago but I have this phobia of getting on Japanese buses. I can not read or speak Japanese so I'm afraid I will get lost.
Maybe I'll take a chance and pay it a visit soon. Also want to see the Buddha in Nara and Chiba as well. Already saw the Kamakura Buddha (everyone does when they first get here).
One of the reasons that the Kamakura/Nara Buddhas are more famous is because they have an ancient history while the Ushiku Buddha is relatively new. It's a shame because it's such a cool statue. Reminds me of the giant Buddha they fought in Gantz. :p
I believe it's also because of the location. It is quite far and there is not much to see in Ushiku. Some of my Japanese friends don't even know about the existence. The Daibutsu in Chiba (Nokogiri Yama) is also quite good. You need to do a little bit of hiking though.
The Daibutsu in Nara is very impressive. Nothing compared to this one in size, but it also happens to be in a magnificent building.
If you want to see it, I have the photos of the Buddha in Chiba on my blog.
http://thumbnail-of-life.blogspot.com/2009_03_01_archive.html
Wow.... ^_^ Really great pictures and sightseeing locations I want to visit ^_^
Wow, I never expected that statue to be that big. Amazing o.o Beautiful photos by the way, great job. The animals look so cute ^^
Wow, that looks really fantastic. I need to make a trip there at some point since I'm not far from it in Tsukuba, so it shouldn't be too hard to get to.
Danbooru killer XD
he is still alive. just got a few broken bones though. xD
Awesome pics.
that Buddha is huge @.@ anyways, the picture you took of the neko was cute :3
nice photo ^^ , btw what camera did you use to take those photo ?
Canon EOS 40D. My main lens is 50mm f1.4.
Nice photos!
I lived one year in Ushiku and never went to see it hehehe