Kida Kokaen: Rich green tea soft serve with a view of the famous Takaoka Daibutsu (Great Buddha)

  • Toyama
  • Eating
Japan's three most famous Buddhist statues are the Great Buddha of Nara (Todaiji Temple) and the Great Buddha of Kamakura (Kotokuin Temple), but do you know the third most famous statue, the Great Buddha of Takaoka?
In the Edo period (1603-1867), there was the Great Buddha of Kyoto at Houkouji Temple in Kyoto, built by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, but it was destroyed by lightning and fire, and then moved with the times... After the war, there are various theories about the third one, and Gifu and Hyogo Daibutsu are among the candidates, but this time we will introduce one of them, the "Takaoka The Daibutsuden in Takaoka, Toyama Prefecture, is one of the candidates for the third one.

It is said that when the poet Akiko Yosano visited Takaoka in 1933, she described the statue as "even more beautiful than the Great Buddha of Kamakura" and said that it was a handsome statue with a neat face. It is said to be "even more handsome than the Daibutsu of Kamakura" when he visited Takaoka.
When you are walking through the streets of Takaoka, you may be surprised to see the statue of the Great Buddha suddenly appearing out of nowhere. You will be surprised to see it. The statue is smaller than expected, but it is still very powerful when seen up close. Inside the pedestal of the Great Buddha, there is a corridor where you can go around and see Buddhist paintings and other exhibits related to Buddhism.
After visiting the Daibutsu, we went to Kida Kouen, a Japanese tea store diagonally across the street from the Daibutsu. Kida Kokaen, which has been in business here since the early Showa period, is popular for its freshly ground green tea and green tea sweets. The specialty is the thick matcha soft serve, which is made with rich, high-quality matcha and sprinkled with a generous amount of matcha powder ground in the store's millstone.
We also recommend the matcha ice cream float! It is a luxurious dish of thickly brewed matcha green tea topped with matcha ice cream, matcha soft serve ice cream, and a sprinkling of matcha powder ground on the millstone. It is not too sweet, but slightly bitter, allowing you to fully enjoy the original taste of matcha green tea.
Have matcha green tea made right in front of you!
Enjoy a cup of thick matcha tea with the Daibutsu statue in the background!
If you are coming by car, there is a parking lot behind the Takaoka Daibutsu statue for visitors only, but please note that there are many one-way streets nearby. Why not go a little further and collect red seals at Imizu Shrine and Zuiryuji Temple, or walk around the dozo-style streets of Yamachi-suji and other historical sightseeing spots?
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