A Tall Tale

Firstly, thank you everyone for the birthday/e-cards/emails/msn's; I really appreciate them all.

I had a great day yesterday; wanted to do something new and different and was running out of ideas. I search far and wide on the Internet for new trips and places to explore in and around Tokyo and I don't think you'll find someone who has been somewhere I haven't. I'm a walking guide book.

I was about to rely on good old Odaiba, but then I found something on someone's blog. I'm not sure if you can plagiarise a day-trip or blog entry, instead I'll call it a homage.

Ushiku is a city in Ibaraki prefecture, just North East of Tokyo*. It is allegedly home to the mythical Japanese creature, the kappa.


Allegedly because there are a handful of places which claim this across the country. The kappa is a god-like animal which is a mixture of a tortoise with a duck-mouth, and a strange flat hair-piece on their head. Although fondly cutsified into small toys and key chains, the legend is a little more terrifying. The kappa live in ponds/lakes and drag children underwater. There are more details, including their love of cucumber etc.

The amazing thing is, you've all seen the kappa beforehand (well most of you). Recognise this guy:


It's a koopa (or koopa trooper) from Super Mario, based on the kappa. Anyway, this was outside Ushiku station:


And with all Japanese cities designing their manhole covers:


Near the station is Kamiya Chateau and winery, which was the first place in Japan to make its own wine. Free to roam around, we explored the basement with its creepy dark corridors among the barrels, and its damp dank atmosphere. Perfect for a Resident Evil re-enaction. A few sips of wine, some cakes and baguette from the patisserie, and a wine cake from the souvenir shop and we were merrily on our way to the main destination.


I assume the only reason I'd never heard of "The Tallest Statue in Japan" was because it was a beast to get to. An hour and a half train ride from Tokyo, then a 30 minute bus, which only comes every two or so hours!). But that's not going to stop me. Maybe the Ushiku Buddha is busy during Summer festivals, as the two large car parks would suggest; but there were only a handful of sightseers yesterday.


The Buddha, which stands at 120m and 4000 tons is impressive; it is the third tallest statue in the World (the tallest two in China), but is the tallest Buddha in the World; it was visible 15 minutes before we arrived there by bus! And to put that into context, it is three times the height of The Statue of Liberty.

The great image of the Buddha, which stands in the center of Jodo Teien garden, is 120 meters high symbolic of the 12 beams of light said to emanate from its body and reach throughout the World. Standing upon a lotus blossom, the feet are poised to signify his vow to step forward and search out all those who are lost within the impure World with its five defilements. In turn, the position of the hands symbolise his acceptance of all sentient beings without exception.

And to grasp the size even further, the Buddha in Kamakura would fit in this Buddha's palm! That deserves another exclamation mark: !


Behind the back of the Buddha is a petting-zoo where you can enter a over-sized rabbit hutch. Of course the only animal to come up to me was... a cat.


One of these things is not like the others:


The lovely if slightly mad woman who worked there named all the 50 or so rabbits, as well as the squirrels who weren't afraid to come and take a bite out of anything food-worthy. The goats were laid-back and the pig was the noisily and awesomely named Shou-chan, who responded to his name and the hint of food; conditioning and all that.




The back of the Buddha had a pair of sliding doors, where you had to remove your shoes and wait for the doors to enter. They did after a few minutes, and Keiko and I were greeted by a Japanese tour guide who welcomed us into the first room. The doors closed behind us and we were in darkness as the woman narrated some facts; it felt like the set-up for a scary roller-coaster or haunted house.


The doors in front opened, inviting us to the "World of Infinite Light and Life, the reliefs of silence and mystery". Or as I saw it, the artifact Abu stole underground in Aladdin.


A museum outlined the construction of the Buddha, as well as reinforcing by scaled objects just how large it is.


Up a lift to the slits you can see on the Buddha image above (somewhere on the chest), for views towards Lake Ushiku, where kappa resides.


The most amazing place was the "World of the Lotus Sanctuary" which spanned on the whole way round with small talisman (about 3,300) which are bought by families before memorial services for dead relatives. This room glimmered with gold.

Outside, a few poses, including a replica head which is a 1000th the size of the Buddha, and a rather gormless video of me and a bell.

A patch of spirally flowers lined the main paths:


Back to Tokyo for a drink in a pub, and for a nice relaxed night. A really great day trip, which isn't suitable for tourists with limited time, but worth a look if you believe size matters.

*47 prefectures, of which I've been to 12.