Kotoku-in (Great Buddha)

The Great Buddha of Kamakura is one of Japan's most iconic images: a monumental bronze Amitabha seated in meditation, 13.35 metres tall and weighing around 93 tonnes. Cast around 1252 during the Kamakura period, it is the second-largest bronze Buddha in Japan, surpassed only by the one in Nara's Todai-ji — but unlike Nara's, this one sits outdoors, which gives it a grandeur that no interior can match.

You can enter the statue's hollow interior for a small additional fee and look out through the small porthole windows in its shoulders — the craftsmanship visible from inside is impressive. Allow 30 to 45 minutes. Admission around 300 yen.

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The Great Buddha once sat inside a wooden hall. Two tsunamis — one in 1334, another in 1498 — destroyed the building and carried it out to sea. The Buddha survived both. Since 1498 it has sat in the open air, weathering every storm, typhoon, and earthquake without damage.

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