Thursday, 23 October 2025

Today’s target was the Hill of Buddha. This involved taking the subway and a bus and so this is when I recommend Mobile Suica. Add it to your Apple Wallet (or Android) add money to it and then just tap in and out of stations and buses, you don’t even need to unlock the phone. Just what the discerning tourist needs. That combined with timetabling thanks to Google Maps and what could go wrong? Well not checking Google’s instructions on how to move from the subway station to the bus stop is one way. The obvious bus stop may not be the actual bus stop, it might just be the bus’ return stop rather than it’s departure stop. No matter I got there. Also while not a problem, per se, but it’s a little disconcerting for the bus not to stop at the stop. You enter via the middle door so it just stops a bit later than might be expected.

Anyway enough of that and onto some photos.

Say a little safety prayer

The Hill of Buddha is actually a cemetery and so these little guys are out front offering a little prayer for safety (I hope). Then inside the gates is this guy, a human headed winged lion statue. The plaque says that 2000 years ago they were enshrined at the gates and entrances to palaces in Egyptian cities and were guardian deities to repel evil spirits.

A guardian deity repelling evil spirits

Oh and you may have noticed a line up of Moai. They are big, bold and not entirely like their relatives on Rapa Nui but there are a lot of them and they look cool.

A line up of Moai

Just a little intimidating

If you thought finding Moai in a Japanese cemetery was a little strange well meet their friends.

Your guess is as good as mine

They appear to be angry at something, hopefully not me but I fled anyway. I went to visit Stonehenge because what else would a cemetery with Moai need?

Stonehenge

More Stonehenge

I just love big blocks of stone which hide other people if you can position yourself just right.

There were people around but Stonehenge is good at blocking them

You might be wondering why, well I was and then I found this. The entrance to the mausoleum.

It’s a mausoleum!

Anyway enough of the support acts, it’s called the Hill of Buddha so it’s off to see Buddha.

First there is a water garden, I would call it a reflecting pond but that’s just me. It’s a lot of potential fun right there but I just walked around it on the way in.

There’s a water garden between me and Buddha

If there was a place to have fun with my 14-24mm lens then this was it. Buddha is massive, the top of his head sticks out the hill and if you time your visit correctly then the hill is covered in lavender (this was not the correct time to visit). Anyway an assortment of photos because while I took a lot more I wasn’t going to just pick one, and I used the fisheye again just because.

Hello Buddha

A little fisheye action

Now the 14-24 gets a chance

There are a couple of niches, like this one, in the wall.

Buddhas in a niche

And then there was a break in the clouds.

Let there be more light

In front of the Buddha there are some seats if you wish to make a prayer.

Having an audience with the Buddha

Now back to that water garden and if you are in a group then the obvious thing to do is for most of you to go on the other side and someone takes a picture.

Your standard reflecting pool group

But if you’re solo then you play with lines and reflections instead.

Fun with reflecting pools

Fun with reflecting pools

Friends from my trip to Portugal and Spain would have had way too much fun with it.

One of the Moai is unlike the others.

The unusual Moai

Time for a bit of late lunch, tasty Ramen, and reversing the bus and subway trip towards the city centre but not all the way because I decided to do the Mt. Moiwa Ropeway and check out the sunset(ish) view. The ropeway is a two part process, first a large gondola and then a small cable car. The staff really cram you into those things but it would be better than walking as it is very steep.

First photo is foliage, because.

yes more foliage

And then some city views

city views

more city views

the mandatory crowd looking at city views

Yes it was breezy up there but very popular, as was the “fortune bell”.

fortune bell

And that was my day, aside from going down the ropeway again, finding the correct bus and subway and heading back to the hotel, via a pitstop at a 7/Eleven.

No plan for tomorrow as yet.