Kanto, Japan · Town / small city
One of the tallest Buddha statues in the world (120m), with an interior elevator to an observation deck 85 metres up, a corridor lined with nearly 3,400 small golden Buddhas, and, around it, a garden with seasonal flowers, a koi pond, and a petting area with free-roaming rabbits, goats, and sheep.
Train — JR Joban Line from Tokyo/Ueno to Ushiku Station, ~1h, ¥1,040, + bus to the Buddha itself (20-25min): ¥560 on weekends (hourly departures) or ¥730 on weekdays (only every 2 hours — worth planning around). Taxi alternative, ~¥3,500-4,000.
A 120-meter standing bronze statue, one of the tallest in the world, with an interior elevator to an observation deck 85 metres up and a corridor lined with nearly 3,400 small golden Buddhas.
You go inside the statue: five floors, a lift up to a viewing platform at 85 metres at chest height, and a dimly lit hall with some 3,400 small gilded Buddhas lit up.
Founded in 1903 by Kamiya Denbei, it was the country's first large-scale commercial winery; three of its brick buildings are Important Cultural Properties and are open to visitors along with the old fermentation hall and a museum devoted to its founder.
A flat circuit of about 16 km around a shallow lake of reeds and birds, tied to the local kappa legends.
The first visit of the year is marked with the statue illuminated and fireworks, an unusual sight in the middle of the Japanese winter.
A miso house that still ferments in large cedar barrels by the natural method, with miso sweets as a souvenir.
A small area behind the complex with free-roaming rabbits and goats, sheep, and Patagonian maras to feed.
A garden around the Buddha with flowers by season (cherry blossoms in spring, poppies in summer, cosmos in autumn) and a koi pond.
A shakyo session (copying sutras with a brush) of twenty minutes to an hour inside the statue, a meditative practice open to anyone.
At Obon, thousands of lanterns lit for the dead at the foot of the statue and fireworks set off in front of the Buddha.
Within the same Meiji-era brick compound, award-winning craft beers and winery cooking under the vaults.
The preserved studio of the painter who made the kappa his recurring subject, beside Lake Ushiku-numa, with his monument to the creature.
In late July, a parade and kappa dance, the water creature the city has adopted as its emblem.
Orchards on the outskirts where seasonal fruit is picked, a simple activity that works very well with children.
A small reserve with trails, a bird hide and an education centre, a short step from the city.
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