Tokyo big Buddha (Daibutsu) Jorenji Temple

This was my second time living in Japan for a longer period of time (not that long, but almost a year) and I rented an apartment in a suburb area on the subway Mita line in Tokyo. When you go to the city office to register (I mentioned that procedure in another entry) you'll get like a welcoming package with information, map etc. I thought I should have a good look around the area, because I'm a bit sad I didn't in the place I lived last time. On the map I found some interesting temples and I marked them for me to go at a later time. Time flew by and I had still not gone anywhere in the area. I had made plans to go see the big Buddha in Kamakura with a friend since I missed the opening hours last time I was in Kamakura. I felt fairly excited and decided to see if there's any hidden gems left for me to see. The big Buddha in Kamakura is really famous and mentioned in every guidebook there is. But I had the feeling Japan should have more of these big statues, so I began googling for the biggest statues in the world. On second place I found that Japan, close to Tokyo, was listed and I'll make an entry about that very fieldtrip later!

Anyway, I also found that in Tokyo area a Buddha of almost the same size as the Kamakura one was located, no less than two stations away from my apartment! I checked my map and saw the temple and now I really had to go.

So on a free saturday, in a burning August day I took the train the two stations needed and went for it. My sense of directions is worthless, it took me one hour to get there, eventhough it was like a 15 minute walk. In case there are any other people like me, I'll have a walkthrough with pictures below how to get there!

First thing to do is take the Mita line subway to Shintakashimadaira station. Takes about 25 minutes from JR Yamanote line Sugamo station.
Once you've arrived at the station you want to take the south exit and cross the street on the left!

To the left is a picture of the station, and on the right is the street which should be visible when you've exited the station and walked a bit up on the street.
Now all you have to do is keep walking straight forward!

You'll pass a 7/11 on your right, as can be seen in the picture below.

 After a while you'll reach a high way, with a bridge, cross the street and go up the small road.

 Just follow the road straight ahead and you'll see a small shrine on your right and this sign to your left.

While I was passing by I thought I might aswell have a loof. It's very small though.

Now, this is where I got lost. Because when you've passed the shrine it looks as if there's just apartment buildings and greens. But keep goign straight forward until you reach the 7/11 in the photo above and then turn left and keep walking until you reach the building in the picture to the left. As you can see there's a sign and an arrow pointing to the right, that's for some garden, but you have to turn right here too. 

After a while you'll reach the sign in the photo to the right, saying 東京大仏, Tokyo big Buddha. Congratulations, you've made it!

Go up the stairs and you're there. This temple is very pretty, and since a lot of people don't know about it, it's not crowded at all! I arrived one hour before closing, and it was very peacefull and nice to walk around. The Buddha is pretty big, BUT, it's only almost as big as the Kamakura one because of the elevation it sits on. So the Buddha itself is smaller, still worth seeing though! Besides the Buddha they have a statue of a 我慢鬼, gaman oni, oni of patience, a pond, and of course a shop from which you can get a mamori. I found a really cute one for my phone, in plastic, shaped as a bag.

 Especially if you're staying in Tokyo, and might not have the time, money or just don't feel like doing the 1h train ride to Kamakura, this is a very good option! Also this area, around the Buddha and also Itabashi, rarely has any tourists, so it's a very calm and quiet place, highly recomended to visit.
In the area around the temple is a small bakey (if you keep going straight and don't turn right with the sign to the garden), and right by the parking lot by that sign is a soba restaurant. I didn't visit the garden or the art museum, but I think it might be fun things to do while in the area. If going right, instead of left by the second 7/11 you'll reach the museum.

I hope this guide will have helped you reach the Jorenji temple and the Tokyo daibutsu!