Usuki Stone Buddhas — Attraction in Usuki

I attended the fire festival here, and took tours of the Buddha's being offered by middle school students who were learning English. The tours were simple and mildly informative, and very good for people new to this type of sculpture. The students themselves were fantastic. They drew pictures to help the audience understand their script and were friendly and clearly worked very hard on their scripts and pronunciation.

The festival was enjoyable, but there wasn't much info on the significance of the festival. (Though to be fair, I can't read Japanese, so I might have missed it)

Overall my favorite parts of the experience were the student tours, and the Buddha carvings.

Things I enjoyed were the festival food, the scenery, and the pamphlet I got about the Buddha's

Some not to great aspects were the apparent lack of sculpture related souvenirs (despite the fact that there were several shops) and apparent disorganization of the fire-lighting. (Though, once again, I might have missed something because I don't speak...

The statues are quite remarkable for their beauty and setting and are worth the effort to get there. I strongly recommend a taxi from the Usuki train station. I would also like to mention how incredibly helpful staff where in helping me retrieve a jacket I had inadvertently forgot on the train by having it sent to my hotel. Within two days I got it back. Very kind and...

This was a side trip on our way to Beppu. The facilities and area are well maintained. The Buddha statues were impressive but maybe I was a little underwhelmed due to visiting so many temples in Japan. They hold important historical...