On my second full day in Japan, I decided I wanted to take advantage of the perfect November day so I took the train from Atsugi south down along the coast of Sagami Bay to Kamakura. It was less than a ten-minute walk from the Enoden (electric railway) station to the Kotoku-in where the Great Buddha, or Kamakura Daibutsu is located.

When you reach the Kotoku-in entrance gate for the Daibutsu there is an entrance fee of ¥300. Once inside you are immediately greeted by the statue, and I don’t think pictures can accurately convey its size. Including the base, he is almost 44ft (13.35m) tall and weighs in at 121 tons. It is unknown exactly who built the statue or when it was completed, but construction was said to have started around 1292. It was originally inside a building but that was damaged by a typhoon in 1334 and ultimately destroyed in an earthquake in 1498. Since then the copper statue has been outdoors, exposed to the elements.

I was very lucky that it wasn’t too busy and I was able to enjoy being there, I could take my time absorbing everything, photographing the Buddha as well as people-watching. I spent a couple of hours there before leaving and exploring more of Kamakura and enjoying a nice bowl of curry ramen then heading back to my home base of Atsugi.