Gifu Daibutsu to Gujo Hachiman　岐阜大仏

April 10^th. 2024

Michi no eki Fujihashi is recommended for an overnight stay at least on a weekday at this time of year. Others have experienced Bosozoku groups making a lot of noise on summer weekends. It has ample parking, good to excellent toilets and an onsen.

Today we make our way to Gifu city. We plan to see the Bamboo Buddha. Last time we passed this way we did not find it and this time it was almost as elusive.

Gifu Daibutsu

Our navi. Steers us through one-way systems and directs us down very narrow two-way streets that have no right to such distinction.

Eventually, we see the temple blocking the end of a narrow, residential street. The temple entrance has a “No Entry” sign and a strategic traffic cone blocking the way.

Closer inspection reveals that you should ignore the sign, remove the cone and park inside the stone gate posts on the gravel area. No wonder we couldn’t find it previously.

Once inside the small temple, you come into the presence of an enormous Buddha. At its centre, is apparently a Ginko tree trunk and then a bamboo frame forming the shape. This is covered with clay which in turn is coated with paper covered with sacred texts. The paper is lacquered and covered in gold leaf.

The resulting Buddha is impressive indeed. Perhaps more so as you are up close and personal inside a relatively small building that is more a shed to house the image than a usual temple building.

The Buddha was begun by a monk in the 18^th century but completed in the 19^th. century after his death towards the end of the Edo era. According to some criteria it is the second largest Buddha in Japan be that indoors or Edo era or whatever.

D. is surprised this Shoboji temple is Obaku school, one of three Zen Buddhist sects. Consequently, the building has Chinese influences.

It is large, impressive, and possibly lonely. Well worth a visit if you can find it.

＊Shoboji temple ‘Gifu Daibutsu’ ; 200 yen / adult

Gujyo Hachiman Castle

From Gifu city we drive to Gujo Hachiman. Always a good place though beginning to suffer from over tourism. He noted, hypocritically.

We walk up to the castle more for the exercise than desire to visit it. We have been here before and the castle is a modern replica. I feel it is best viewed from the town below. The road up to the castle has numerous sharp hairpins so many people park lower down and walk up. Parking at the top is also limited.

Gujo Hachiman walk

From the castle, there are nice views of the surrounding hills and the city below.

The striking thing about Gujo Hachiman itself is the abundance of water. There is the splendid river, of course, but everywhere from small canals to gratings under your feet comes the sound of rushing, yes really rushing water.

There are alleyways and quaint shops, fish, and arty things. All combine to provide a worthwhile wander.

Gujo Hachiman is famous for Bon Odori, which last for 30 nights at a variety of places in the town and everybody can join the dance. Especially from 13th of August for four days when they dance all night in the street.

From Gujo we head out to Fukui and our michi no eki Katsuyama, we have a date with dinosaurs on the morrow.
Katsuyama michi no eki is an open space, large car park, trucks to one side and a low modern building. Toilets are inside the main building, very modern and clean. Illuminated dinosaurs on the bridge.