Statues in Japan

Discover 65 unusual statues in Japan.

Ogushi Kaizuka Park

A park built around the legend of a clam-loving giant who created a monumental midden.

The head of Virgin Mary.

Nagasaki, Japan

Head of the Virgin Mary

The statue's head is one of the few fragments of the original Urakami Cathedral to survive the atomic bomb.

Kanmangafuchi Abyss

A remarkable lava formation encloses a line of Buddhist statues that can't be accurately counted, according to local mythology.

Kincho Raccoon Statue in Komatsushima Station Park

Komatsushima-shi, Japan

Kincho Raccoon Dog Statue

A statue of a mischievous raccoon towers over this city park.

Parents of deceased children place colorful "bibs" on Jizo statues to show their gratitude for his protection in the afterlife.

Kiyomizu-Dera Temple

A shrine contains nearly 200 statues of the Buddhist deity Jizo, dressed in bibs by parents who have lost a child.

Godzilla Head

Not quite the menace it once was, this monster still has some chops.

Soldiers locked forever in combat

Sekigahara-chō, Japan

Sekigahara War Land

One of the bloodiest and most important battles in Japanese history is recreated with kitschy concrete statues.

The figures anchor a park with gardens and other attractions

Nichinan-shi, Japan

Sun Messe Nichinan

These seven moai figures are the world's only sanctioned replicas of the Easter Island originals.

Peeing Boy with valley below

Peeing Boy of Iya Valley

A statue erected on an infamous cliff where young boys would hold dangerous "pee offs" to prove their mettle.

Odaiba Statue of Liberty

Odaiba Statue of Liberty

This little replica of Lady Liberty provides a bit of NYC in a Japanese city.

Forest of Seven Lucky Gods

Takayama, Japan

Forest of Seven Lucky Gods

The divine septet of Japanese fortune gods are rendered in 1,000 year old wood at this peaceful site.

Permanently Closed

Kabukicho Robot Restaurant

Cabaret where the show girls are all androids, and the patrons couldn't be more pleased.

Miracle Pine sculpture under construction

Rikuzentakata-shi, Japan

Miracle Pine

A sculpture that resurrected the only tree standing following the devastating 2011 tsunami.

Tetsujin 28 robot statue in Wakamatsu Park

Tetsujin 28 Robot Statue

A 59-ft. robot statue looks over the citizens of earthquake-ravaged Kobe.

Hachikō, Jirō, and Kai Ken

Hachiko

After a profound show of devotion for his master, a dog becomes the symbol of loyalty for an entire nation.

Sakura tie in Showa Daibutsu, Aomori

Showa Daibutsu

The tallest bronze seated statue of the Buddha in Japan.