I went on a day trip from Tokyo to see the “world’s 4th largest” Great Buddha.The location is Ushiku City, Ibaraki Prefecture.
From Ueno Station, it takes about 50 minutes on the Joban Line to reach Ushiku Station.
It’s surprisingly close. To be honest, I was shocked that something like this existed so near Tokyo.
What is the Ushiku Daibutsu? [Trivia]
The Ushiku Daibutsu (official name: Ushiku Amida Daibutsu) is a massive bronze standing statue with a total height of 120 meters — one of the largest in the world.Breakdown of the 120 meters:Pedestal: 10 m
Lotus flower base: 10 m
Buddha statue itself: 100 m
The Buddha figure alone is 100 meters tall.
For comparison, the Nara Daibutsu is just under 15 meters — which means it would look like a miniature in front of the Ushiku Daibutsu.Completed in 1993, it was recognized by Guinness World Records as the tallest statue of a Buddha at the time.
Later, taller statues were built in India and China, so it now ranks 4th in the world.
By the way, the Statue of Liberty is 93 meters tall (including its pedestal).The interior is hollow, and you can take an elevator up through the inside of the statue.
There’s an observation window at chest level (85 meters above ground), and on clear days you can supposedly see Mount Tsukuba and even Tokyo Skytree.
From Ushiku Station, Take the Bus
From the east exit of Ushiku Station, you can catch a bus.
There’s a convenient “Ushiku Daibutsu Direct Bus,” which takes about 25–30 minutes.
Through the bus window, I saw the flat rural landscapes of Ibaraki stretching on and on.
I started to feel a little uneasy, thinking, “Is there really a world-class giant Buddha way out here in the countryside?”Then, it finally came into view.
“…Is it big?”Even from the bus, I could tell it was large, but without anything nearby to compare it to, it somehow didn’t feel overwhelmingly huge.
After getting off the bus and entering the reception area, I still had the same impression.
I knew objectively that it was huge, but I just couldn’t feel that “Wow, it’s 120 meters!” sensation.
The Ushiku Daibutsu Doesn’t Feel “Huge”!
It is huge when you compare it to people — they look like tiny specks.
And yet, I still couldn’t get that visceral “120 meters?!” feeling.
I think it’s because there’s almost no sense of scale around it.
In contrast, the Nara and Kamakura Daibutsu are surrounded by buildings and people, so you can instantly grasp how enormous they are in relation to humans.The Ushiku Daibutsu sits in the middle of a vast park with no tall buildings nearby. Even when people are standing close to it, their small size doesn’t stand out as dramatically.As a result, it feels like: “It’s big… but the bigness doesn’t really hit you.”
The closer you get, the harder it becomes to sense its scale.
It’s even trickier in photos. The back view doesn’t convey the size at all.
As a photographer, this Buddha was quite frustrating.So I came up with a strategy: “Use flowers as the foreground.”In October, the grounds of Ushiku Daibutsu are filled with blooming cosmos and purple salvia.
By placing flowers in the foreground, I could express both scale and beautiful colors at the same time.I lay down on the ground, framing the Buddha’s silhouette behind the cosmos.
There were also red celosia flowers.
And salvia.
The vibrant flowers swaying in front of the serene giant Buddha…
Actually, it made the Buddha look even smaller.Anyway, I moved on to enter the interior of the statue.
Elevator wait time: 30 minutes
Well, I waited. After all, how many chances do you get to go inside the world’s 4th largest Buddha?The inside was dimly lit and had a solemn atmosphere.
The walls were lined with countless small golden Buddha statues (it also functions as a columbarium), creating a unique and sacred feeling.
However, photography was prohibited in many areas.It was only after entering the interior that I finally understood just how enormous it is.
The fact that such a vast hollow space existed inside finally made the scale click.That was a fascinating experience.Around the Daibutsu, there are vast gardens with cosmos fields, salvia fields, and rose gardens that change with the seasons.
There’s also a unique bridge called “Ouchou no Hashi” (the Bridge of Transcendence).
Footprints are painted on the bridge, and the sign says:
“Chant ‘Namu Amida Butsu’ while taking six steps across.” The bridge is designed to be exactly about six steps long.
Once you cross it, you supposedly reach the “other shore” (the Pure Land).
…Wait, does that mean you die??The area also has a small zoo where you can watch monkey performances.
The dilemma of “It’s huge, but it doesn’t feel huge” stayed with me until the end.
Still, there’s more than enough content to enjoy for a full day. I definitely recommend visiting — it’s well worth the trip.Date of visit: October 8, 2017
Location: Ushiku Amida Daibutsu, Ushiku City, Ibaraki Prefecture
Camera: Canon EOS Kiss X7i (EF-S18-200mm F3.5-5.6 IS) / iPhone 7 Plus
Weather: Clear
High: 24.2°C / Low: 15.7°C (Ryugasaki AMeDAS)
Data source: https://tenki.jp/past/2017/10/08/amedas/3/11/