Great Buddha of Kamakura (Kotoku-in)

The bronze statue is 13.35 meters (43.8 feet) tall including its stone base; the bronze figure alone measures about 11.3 to 11.4 meters. It weighs roughly 121 tons and is Japan's second-tallest bronze Buddha statue, after Todai-ji's Great Buddha in Nara.

Yes. The current bronze statue was cast in stages during the mid-13th century, likely completed around 1252, making it more than 770 years old. It replaced an earlier wooden statue at the same site that was damaged by a storm. The bronze figure standing today has not been recast; restoration work has reinforced its base and repaired surface damage without replacing the original casting.

It originally stood inside a large wooden hall. Storms repeatedly damaged the building, and a tsunami in the late 15th century destroyed it for good. The hall was never rebuilt, so the statue has sat exposed to the open sky for more than 500 years, a rare condition for a Buddhist statue of this importance in Japan.

Yes, for an additional ¥50 on top of the temple admission fee. A narrow doorway near the base leads to a hollow interior with a steep stairway, where you can see the seams of the cast bronze plates that form the statue. The space is cramped, photography inside is not permitted, and the interior is not wheelchair accessible. Interior entry closes at 4:30 PM, thirty minutes before the main grounds close.

Temple grounds admission is ¥300 for adults and junior/senior high school students (age 13 and up), and ¥150 for elementary school students (ages 6-12). Entering the statue's interior costs an additional ¥50. The site is open 8:00 AM to 5:30 PM from April through September and 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM from October through March, with last entry 15 minutes before closing.

They are different statues in different settings, not simply a bigger-versus-smaller pair. Nara's Great Buddha is taller, at roughly 15 meters, about five centuries older, and sits inside Todai-ji's Great Buddha Hall, the world's largest wooden building; it has also been rebuilt and repaired more extensively after historical fires and earthquakes. Kamakura's Buddha is smaller, stands in the open air, and is closer to its original 13th-century form. Many travelers see both on separate trips rather than choosing one over the other.

Yes, they are commonly combined; Hasedera is about a five-minute walk from Kotoku-in. There is no fixed correct order. Some visitors start at the Great Buddha since it is the more famous landmark and tends to get crowded first, then continue to Hasedera's hillside grounds and Kannon statue afterward; others reverse the order to catch Hasedera before its own crowds build. Either way, budget roughly 45 minutes to an hour at each site.

No. Kamakura, including the Great Buddha and its surrounding temples, was formally nominated for UNESCO World Heritage status in 2013, but the nomination was withdrawn after UNESCO's advisory body concluded the modern city around the historic sites had compromised the area's integrity as a heritage site. The Great Buddha remains one of Japan's most visited cultural landmarks regardless of that designation.

Most visitors spend 30 to 45 minutes viewing the statue and walking the courtyard, or closer to an hour if you go inside the statue during a busier period when there is a short wait. It pairs easily with a visit to nearby Hasedera Temple for a half-day itinerary.

The main courtyard is flat and paved, and the temple loans wheelchairs on-site from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM, though a helper is recommended since some areas of the grounds are difficult to navigate independently. The statue's interior is not accessible, since entry is via a narrow, steep stairway.

Partially. The JR Pass covers the JR Yokosuka Line from Tokyo or Yokohama to Kamakura Station. From there, the short Enoden Line ride to Hase Station is not JR-operated and is not covered, so budget a small separate fare or walk from Kamakura Station instead.

Yes, for nearly every visitor to Kamakura. It is one of Japan's most recognizable landmarks, the visit takes well under an hour, and it pairs naturally with Hasedera Temple nearby. The main limitation is that there is not much else to do on site once you have seen the statue, so it works best as one stop on a longer Kamakura day rather than a destination by itself.