Ushiku Daibutsu

The Ushiku Daibutsu, located in Ibaraki Prefecture, is among the top five tallest statues in the world, coming in at a total of 120m tall – 10m high base, 10m high lotus pedestal, and the statue of Amitabha Buddha which stands at 100m tall. All in all, the total structure weighs in at over 4,000 tons. 

The Ushiku Daibutsu was completed in 1993, taking roughly 10 years to build.

Visitors to the Ushiku Daibutsu can take an elevator ride a total of 85m in the interior of the statue to an observation platform – On a clear day, you can see as far as the Tokyo Skytree from the observation deck. Inside, you can find also among other cool exhibits, a  mesmerizing room known as ‘The World of Lotus Sanctuary’, which contains 3000+ Buddha statues known as Tainaibutsu, which act as a form of grave for families who have purchased one for a deceased loved one.

To give you a sense of scale, the famous Daibutsu in Nara’s Todai-ji temple is only the size of one of the Ushiku Daibutsu’s hand. The statue stands out like a sore thumb in the rural town of Ushiku, and is taller than any building in the nearby area. From 1993, until 2008, the Ushiku Daibutsu held the world record for the tallest statue in the world.