John Daub: It happens almost every five minutes on the Inuyama Line from Nagoya.
The gates close and the signal start at a train crossing.
The Meitetsu train departs Hōtei Station for Kōnan gliding across Aichi Prefecture.
And passing the colossal Buddha of Hōtei and his sunglasses.
♫ Intro music ♫
Irrashaimase! (Welcome!)
Peter von Gomm: ONLY in Japan
So here we are in Aichi Prefecture not too far away from Nagoya.
This is Kōnan.
It's very famous for its Buddhist culture.
You'll see little Buddhas and temples all around the town.
And if you're a fan of the traditional and the modern,
this is an amazing spot.
Now I love trains, kind of a train otaku, you'll have the Inuyama line going by here
every five minutes.
And when it does, it takes the cultural to another level.
In the distance is an 18 meter Daibutsu (Giant Buddha).
It is really big, you can see it from about a kilometer away.
And when that train goes by, it puts on a show.
Kōnan is in Aichi Prefecture. The capital is Nagoya, Japan's third largest city
and the area's main Shinkansen stop for Japan Rail's Nozomi express.
Jump on the Meitetsu Inuyama line for 30 minutes and you'll reach Hōtei Station.
And just a few minutes walk from here, is a rail crossing that is pretty unique.
♫ Upbeat music ♫
If you stay on the train and pass the station, you'll see it on the left side.
It's in view for only two seconds.
The Colossal Buddha of Hōtei
Standing in front of it, all humans are small.
This sitting Buddha statue is 18 meters high, made of cement,
looks to the southeast, and has that grandfatherly stare.
It's privately owned and two meters higher than Tōdaiji, the Great Buddha of Nara.
Many come here when they are sick, for healing, or to find a path in their lives.
Me? I came here for another reason.
If you position yourself just right of the train crossing,
you'll see the hippest Buddha in Japan, down there.
I was told this was discovered by chance, about 10 years ago and reported in
a regional newspaper then picked up again a few years ago.
They call it: Buddha sunglasses.
You can see that the light is starting to go down, the sun is setting, and
I'm really curious to see what does the Buddha glasses look like at night.
I mean, is it some kind of party?
Just some sort of techno-vibe going on?
(Train crossing)
It's just 150 meters away from the train crossing.
It's privately owned by Dr. David Maeda and I went inside the back
where he has a clinic.
He helped his father build it as kid and I wanted to know more about the Daibutsu's
history and why it was built at all.
David: I don't know.
I have no idea.
(John laughs)
Just that he said, "When are you going to start the big statue?"
It must help everybody.
The whole family.
I carried the sand and the stone and the concrete, you know, by the shoulder.
John: Did you think it was crazy to build something like this?
David: I don't think it was crazy at that time.
But now he was crazy.
Very.
John: You can see his father, Maeda Hidenobu, in 1954 in front of the
completed Daibutsu with nothing around except for fields.
When the silk industry ended with the invention of nylon,
locals turn to farming.
And then it was swallowed up as a suburb of Nagoya and its new industries.
Maeda-san had saved alot of money from his acupuncture business and used that to
build it himself.
Perhaps a symbol of post-war Japan that anything is possible.
The view from the Daibutsu's inauguration in 1954 shows a completely different area
when compared to today.
Growth from Japan's economic miracle years from the 1960s to 80s is obvious to see.
I asked Dr. Maeda to share more stories from back in the day,
and the challenge of owning a big Buddha in today's world.
David: People come and people pray for the, you know, pray for the health, family
and everything, good luck.
He planned it, he drew the picture, but he was not professional.
No architecture.
Everybody says my father is great, and then he did a good job, so I proud.
But now, family is getting old. Who gonna maintain this for the future?
This is the main concern.
John: The Daibutsu is showing its age after being renovated once at
great cost, decades ago.
It's hard to see how it'll be maintained in the future as most of Maeda-san's
family now lives in the United States.
But it is an interesting attraction for Kōnan city and Aichi Prefecture.
Just a few stops from Inuyama, a 16th century Japanese castle town.
One note: viewing the Buddha sunglasses means standing in front of a cemetery,
which is okay for visiting, but pay your respects to the resident's ancestors here
and they'll allow a friendly visit.
At night, I came back for a visit, respectfully offering a prayer,
forgiveness, and thanks to the ancestors in the cemetery.
Then illuminated the Hōtei Daibutsu myself for just a minute.
It's quite a sight.
(Railroad crossing chimes)
(Train passes)
And it's over.
Until the next train a few minutes later when Japan's coolest Buddha
puts on those awesome sunglasses.
Now my sunglasses might not be as cool as the Daibutsu Buddha's over there,
but this is an incredible spot.
You got Nagoya not too far away, Inuyama, a castle town with a lot of delicious foods,
Gifu Prefecture with Seki City and Mino is not too far away.
If you do come into this area, do keep in mind that you are right in front of a cemetery.
Be very respectful, keep the noise down,
take lots of pictures and share your experience.
If you do come to Nagoya, definitely hit the Buddha sunglasses spot.
It's on Google Maps.
Thank you to Dr. Maeda for his time and sharing his family history with us.
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created and produced by me, John Daub.
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Mata ne (See you)