Whenever I discover that there is a sizeable Buddha or Kannon statue in a town or city that I am about to visit, I find it difficult to resist making space for it in my schedule.

With limited time on the northern tip of Japan’s most southern main island, my original plan did NOT include the 17-meter-tall white goddess statue located about six kilometres south of a Shinkansen (bullet train) station. However, when I managed to do everything I’d planned to do ahead of schedule I decided to squeeze in a visit to Washimineyama Heiwa Kannon which is located on the outskirts of EcoPlay Park Tenbodai in Kitakyushu.

Sadly, the bus I took arrived later than expected and after a clear morning, drizzle gradually became more noticeable on the windows. Not long after disembarking, the rain became heavier. The statue was not visible from the roadside and there was nothing in the way of signage indicating its whereabouts. Faced with a fairly grim situation, and needing to get back to Kokura station, I actually decided to just get an imminent bus back as they were only hourly and the next one wouldn’t leave me too much time ahead of the 2:00 pm kickoff.

However, I’m still not quite done with seeking out a bit of adventure (despite my advancing years!) so I changed my mind again. I’d come this far and at worst it wouldn’t hurt if I had to miss the start of the football. After a false turn or two I finally found a path which began ascending the 137-meter-high mountain but I still had absolutely no idea if it would take me to what I wanted to see.

On my way up only one or two old men passed by me going in the opposite direction but there were supposedly other forms of life as signs did warn of vipers and wild boars that had been sighted in the area. I’m always quite blase about such signs though and didn’t take it too seriously.

If the rain wasn’t enough then the sweat also added to my lack of comfortability but after about 20 minutes of walking up the gentle paved slope, I was relieved to see the Peace Kannon statue in the distance that I’d made the effort to see.

As with any other statue, it no doubt looks a bit better in the sunshine when the sky is blue, particularly during the cherry blossom season in Spring. Sadly, this was a rather grey and dreary day in Fukuoka Prefecture.

The Kannon statue faces the town and was completed in 1966 as a memorial for civilians killed in air raids during the war, a time when the mountaintop was the site of a military anti-aircraft gun position.

Unaware of the height of the statue beforehand I guess I was expecting it to be a bit taller but I did have it all to myself (due to the adverse weather conditions) which was nice. I had time to kill and could’ve stayed longer but with only a small umbrella for protection from the elements I decided to head back to the bus stop where shelter was nearby. Disaster was lurking just round the corner though.

A short walk down the hill was a tiny toilet hut that I decided to use. I had just put my kannon away when my smartphone fell out of my jacket pocket. It was actually the second time it had happened on this day, and I really should’ve learned my lesson. This time it fell into some dirty toilet paper lodged to the side at the top. Never has my hand moved so quick to retrieve it and wipe it clean. It was only then that I really noticed how lucky I had been.

As this was the countryside, it was actually a pit-drop toilet meaning that my phone could have and probably should have fallen deep down into the underground. I really hate to think what I would’ve done had it dropped all the way down into the abyss as there wasn’t a soul in sight and it’s not exactly the kind of thing a stranger would want to help with! Even now I shudder at the thought of it all! It really was a lucky escape!

• Washimineyama Heiwa Kannon is located at 5-8 Kumagai, Kokurakita-ku, Kitakyushu, Fukuoka-ken. It is open 24 hours a day.

Bonus: The bus from the Kannon statue was heading back towards Kokura station but I decided that I’d have a quick photo stop at Kokura-jo Castle as I don’t know if I’ll ever be back in the area. I somehow missed the intended bus stop so then had to run a bit from the next one to catch the briefest glimpses of the castle originally built in the early 17th century.

After a couple of fires in the 19th century, the keep was reconstructed in 1959 and fully restored in 1990. The exterior was pretty impressive, and I’d have liked to explore the surrounding area more but I had to get to the modern football stadium located right by the sea.

En-route to the stadium I did see this interesting looking building which is an event venue.

Thankfully, I managed to arrive at Mikuni World Stadium Kitakyushu just in time for the regional derby’s kick-off.

Click here to read ’12 Hours in Fukuoka: Unique Architecture, Cheap Ramen, A Frog Temple, Platform Zeros & The World’s Largest Bronze Statue!’

Click here to read ‘A Regional Football Derby at a Modern Stadium Located Right by the Sea’

Click here to read ‘Interesting Japanese Playground Structures #48 – Momozono Park’

Click here to read ‘The Goddess Statue Watching Over This Coastal Area’

Click here to read ‘The Giant White Kannon Statue Keeping an Eye on its Residents’