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Largest wooden Buddha in Japan

The Tōchō-ji Temple in the centre of Fukuoka is one of the city’s biggest attractions. This is one of the oldest Buddhist temples in Japan and houses the largest sitting wooden Buddha in the country. In spring, the temple grounds offer a magnificent display of flowering cherry blossoms.

Arts & Culture

The Fukuoka Buddha

30,000 kilos of Buddha

The Buddha in this temple is also known as the Fukuoka Daibutsu, the largest Buddha statue in Fukuoka. Carpenters began working on this wood sculpture in 1988. It took 4 years to complete. The Buddha is almost 11 metres high and weighs 30,000 kilos. The ring engraved in wood, behind the sculpture, is decorated with images of Buddha. Next to the Fukuoka Daibutsu is a space with an exhibit of various artefacts. One of these artefacts is a revolving bookcase filled with holy scriptures. It is said that by turning the bookcase the person receives as much karma as if they had read all of the scriptures in the bookcase.

The Setsubun festival in Japan

Festivities around the temple

The Tōchō-ji Temple is a regular stage for various festivals. Every year on 3 February, the Japanese celebrate the Setsubun festival, the last day of winter. The temple is surrounded by stages where masked mythical figures dance and throw beans, candy and rice to ward off evil. From mid-May to early June, there is the Kukai Gekijo festival. During this festival you can attend Japanese tea ceremonies; all participants receive a Japanese tea cup as a souvenir.

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Arts & Culture

Houston and Dallas may be bigger and more famous, but Austin is in fact the capital of Texas. It’s also the least Texan city in Texas. And the weirdest city in the country. This is something its residents take pride in, as evidenced by the Austin motto of Keep Austin Weird! Have a peek inside weird houses or admire a cathedral of junk in a city where there is even a museum devoted entirely to the weird and strange.

Nightlife

When it comes to music, you might be inclined to think New Orleans (jazz), Memphis (rock ‘n’ roll), Chicago (blues) or Nashville (country), but Austin is actually the music capital of the US. The city boasts over 250 music venues, more than any other American city. You can choose from countless live performances and a fantastic music festival every month, such as SXSW. Austin lives and breathes music.

Beach, Water sports, Nature

The airport in Liberia is the gateway to the Province of Guanacaste, the sunniest part of Costa Rica. Thanks to its large number of snow-white buildings and tree-lined streets made of white gravel, the city itself is also referred to as ‘la ciudad blanca’. But, let’s be honest, most visitors who arrive here are primarily interested in white sand. Only a half hour by car from the airport is the fantastic Pacific coast with beaches that are postcard perfect.

Nature

In the Rincón de la Vieja National Park, you can hike, swim in natural hot springs, picnic and camp. The park features a variety of ecosystems around nine craters and 32 rivers with spectacular waterfalls during the rainy season. The diversity of flora and fauna is amazing: look up and chances are you’ll see toucans, sloths and monkeys in the treetops.

Active & Outdoor

Old towns, stunning constructions and wonderful nature: admire all of this and more in THIS IS HOLLAND, a brand-new 5D movie attraction by the producers of De Nieuwe Wildernis (The New Wilderness). It is the perfect introduction to Holland for first-time visitors, but also an interesting surprise for Dutchies who think they know their country inside out. This is a magical 5D experience with smells, colours, images, sounds, rain and shine.

Culinary

Everyone in Sweden knows Småland as the nation’s culinary centre. The region’s cuisine goes above and beyond the famous meatballs: a Michelin-star restaurant serves innovative Swedish haute cuisine, coffee is elevated to an art, and you can visit a lovely castle and pretend to be Lord or Lady of the manor. Here are three suggestions for typically Swedish restaurants in the city of Växjö.

Arts & Culture

Älmhult is the birthplace of renowned botanist Carl Linnaeus and children’s books author Astrid Lindgren, however its most famous ‘offspring’ is IKEA. Life in this southern Swedish town evolves around the blue-and-yellow furniture giant: from the IKEA Hotel and IKEA Museum to the IKEA Bar and IKEA Spa. Welcome to the one and only IKEA Småland – meatballs and ball pit included.