The 120-meter-tall Ushiku Amida Buddha statue looms above the rice fields in Ibaraki Prefecture.
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The 120-meter-tall Ushiku Amida Buddha statue looms above the rice fields in Ibaraki Prefecture.
© Japan Today
52 Comments
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realist
Kimochi warui
Maria
Cool - great picture.
KallyPygous
It was a good idea building that statue - Gojira hasn't been seen in Ibaraki since they put it up.
Sarge
I agree with realist.
gamera
Awesome.
DenDon
been there, nice place
trustee
realist why "Kimochi Warui" ? I am not a japanese but I guess it means "How disgusting". Its very nice , isnt it ?
IvanCoughalot
How old is that statue? Does anybody know? It would have been a good way to keep peasants in order a long time ago. Big Buddha is watching you.
pawatan
It's about 15 years old, quite new.
TokyoGas
Interesting pic. It almost looks ghostly.
tclh
This Buddha statue reminds people should eat rice ,vegetables only... and leave all animals alone? awesome picture.
Kureigu3
This statue can be seen clearly from the Ushiku Immigration Detention Center! Hahaha~
Jkanda
A very beautiful photo and a very calm Buddha.
BuddhismTech
Wow!!! The Ushiku Amida Buddha statue is so giant and watching over the beautiful yellowish field! The residents must be very lucky to live near this awesome statue!
thedbc
This is cool! But if I lived near it I would think its alive. But still very cool.
tokyochris
http://www.ushikukankou.com/ushikudaibutsu.htm
* Weight: 4000 tons * Length of Left Hand: 18.0m * Length of Face: 20.0m * Length of Eye: 2.5m * Length of Mouth: 4.0m * Length of Nose: 1.2m * Length of Ear: 10.0m * Length of the First Finger: 7.0mMadness!
tokyochris
oh, and imagine the ghostbusters stomping around in that like they did with the statue of liberty ^_^
BuddhismTech
What? Blame the fog for making the statue to appear like a ghost.
tokyochris
You haven't seen Ghostbusters, have you?
davestrousers
The classical statues, such as the Buddha in Kamakura are cool but this 1990's monstrosity in Ushiku is a blot on the landscape. Might not have looked so bad in a big city surrounded by other things but its out in the middle of nowhere, just looks weird to me.
WitchDoctor
Wow.....a very beautiful photo. Great job Mr. DAVE MACDONALD. Keep up your photography skills.
Sebarashii
The statue is actually a Buddhist temple, accessible through an elevator in on of the heels. (No joke!)
Also, there is a zoo at the foot (feet?) of the statue that is home to exotic animals like squirrels, rabbits, and goats.
But I agree, it's a nice place to visit.
sillygirl
is it fog or bad air quality?
Omnicron4535
Nice smog there.
Hurtado
it looks brilliant
sunny117
If I were to be living in that house then ..........perhaps it would feel like paradise...........
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tokyochris
Just a lack of contrast due to the distance I would say
xpompey8
That's massive! The daibutsu in kamakura only measures 14.9 meters. Godzilla 50 meters...the Statue of Liberty a mere 40 meters!
Smythe
It definately was a most interesting photo, for so many of us in North America knew nothing about this statue. Which means that photographers will be looking upon other weather, air to times of day to take photos of the statue. Definately quite impressive when one takes is the size alone.
benhur
scary..
PitoPuccho
Looks like early morning Fog. Not a bad picture at all.
fareastfurfaro
Sebarashii:
You forgot about the monkey show!
I live the next town over so I've been there a couple times. Worth visiting but the view while pretty amazing could be better. The slits are so thin to see out of that you can't see as much as you'd like. You can take pictures but they don't come out at all. Still, pretty cool and so random that Ushiku was chosen for it.
griff
biggest personality cult in history
diegameL
How come this isn't promoted more actively? It is a lot bigger than the famous ones in Japan. I had never heard of until now.
Jbizzle
Wow...I've never even heard of this thing. Pretty cool. Nice picture.
lotus2
This is a fantastic picture -- well done to the photographer!
Ulisse
Yoh! tokyochris mah maan! Check this comment out!
http://www.japantoday.com/category/crime/view/rome-restaurantshut-down-after-charging-japanese-tourists-695-euros#comment_338609
I've posted it for another issue, but it fits your case here quite well!
Cheers!
pawatan
It's really inconveniently located for visitors. Easy to drive to, hard to train to.
It's sort of in the same category as the Perfect Liberty temple thingy in Osaka, which is another really massive (and really strange) building people outside of Japan - and many in - have never heard of.
usaexpat
Very cool picture, I wasn't aware there were any giant Budhas in Japan
tokyochris
Ulisse....... I don't get it? What does any of that have to do with me making a reference to how the ghostbusters stomped around New York in the statue of liberty???
If you think that what I said was disrespectful or ignorant, I'm sorry but I ask that you please have a quiet word with yourself if that's how you view it...
Sarge
I think they should outfit this Buddha statue so that it can stomp around Ibaraki, and, if it wants, Tokyo, at will.
BuddhismTech
This is about the statue, not racial politics!
seesaw
Are you serious? I was about to lend Mr MacDonald my camera for his future use....:) that was one horrible pic. Seems like it was taken on some disposable cameras...no offence..:)
Sarge
In fact, I think they should have Godzilla fight this Buddha statue in the next Godzilla movie:
Godzilla vs Buddha
LoveUSA
lol, finally Sarge has found his soulmate. Thanks to Buddha.
Fadamor
Nice picture. Just enough haze to make it appear that Buddha was walking throughout the land.
grafton
I didn’t know about this Buddha, for such a large object it seems to have been a well-kept secret. Even my wife didn’t know about this one (she’s Japanese & likes visiting such places(( as do I)), but she tells me that Japan over the last few years (20ish) have started to build more Buddhas, a Buddhist revival perhaps?
The picture is a good early morning image, but really I would like to see this much more clearly, I think I will do some internet digging and knowing how a certain lady’s mind works plan for a future visit there.
Ulisse
That picture is intriguing by the way! :-))
Jkanda
Even Buddha did not care much about religion. If he did, he would have proclaimed or denounced hinduism. He was born in a Hindu family. But he just showed the way to live or something like that. Well said Ulisse. Yes, so much to learn even from Spongebob.
jessssicaaa
with that mist it almost looks like a giant is kneeling off in the distance.. i love it!
kumachan
I'm not so sure it was built to be a "tourist" attraction. My wife's family is not too far from Ushiku and told us it is part of a cemetery.
alladin
I've been there. It was not as exciting as I thought it would be.