The little known Echizen Daibutsu is an enormous temple, seemingly towering over all the other buildings nearby found in the small city of Katsuyama, Fukui Prefecture. Contained at the Echizen Daibutsu, is 17 meter tall Buddha statue, which towers over two of the most famous Buddha statues in Japan – the Buddha at Todai-ji in Nara (14.7m), and the Kamakura Daibutsu (13.3m). This impressive height makes it the tallest sitting Buddha statue in Japan.
Echizen Daibutsu is a modern temple, only dating back to the 1980’s. While the temple lacks in an extensive history, as seen in Todai-ji, the impressive size of the main hall, and beautiful views from the five-storied pagoda, make this a really interesting destination in Japan.
In the nearby area, you can find the Yume Ole Katsuyama Textile museum, the Katsuyama Castle Museum, and the Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum (plus many statues of Dinosaurs scattered around).
Hours and Admission
- Hours: 8:00am - 5:00pm (9:00am-4:00pm during Winter)
- 500JPY
- Average Time Spent: 30 minutes
- Official Website
Where To Stay
Access
There is a train line from Fukui Station, to Katsuyama Station, on the Echiuzentetsudo-Katsyyama-Eiheji Line. This will take a little under an hour each direction, and cost 770JPY. This service is not operated by Japan Rail, and the Japan Raill Pass is not valid on this service.
Once at Katsuyama Station,The easiest way to access Echizen Daibutsu is via taxi, which will take about 10 minutes.
Alternatively, the Gururin Nambu bus line from Katsuyama Station will take within about a kilometer of the temple.
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