The Ushiku Daibutsu (otherwise known as that enormously giant Buddha statue in Ibaraki, Japan)  is the tallest bronze depiction of Buddha and the third tallest statue in the world. Standing at 120 meter (390 feet, for all y’all other Americans), this statue is freakishly enormous.

And, of course, it is the largest Buddha statue in all of Japan. It completely blows away both the Daibutsus in Nara and Kamakura. Like, it blows them out of the water with its sheer size. Because it’s huge. Ok. Moving on.

Ryosuke told me there was a giant Buddha statue only about a 20 minute drive away, so he decided to take me on one of our days off. When he said “giant Buddha statue” I was thinking “giant Buddha statue the size of a three story house” not “giant Buddha statue three times the size of the statue of liberty.”

But that’s what it was.

And I’m going to let that sink in for a second. This Ushiku Daibutsu is three times the size of the Statue of Liberty.

This bronze statue, depicting Amitabha Buddha, stands in the middle of nowhere in the Ibaraki prefecture of Japan. When it was built (back in 1995), it was the largest statue in the world.

It was built by a private donor in honor of the founder of the “True Pure Land School” of Buddhism. But, of course, this was back before the bubble burst, so I guess they had funds available.