Kurayami Matsuri (Festival) at Fuchu

(Updated: July 7, 2013 with high resolution photos)

On May 5, 2006, after hearing about an interesting "Japanese festival" from a friend at the dormitory, I went to check out the Kurayami Matsuri (Festival) near Fuchu (府中) at the Ōkunitama Shrine (大國魂神社).

Note: I have no idea what this festival was about. Other than the fact that there were real Taiko drums and a "Japan atmosphere" to it.

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Kamakura Field Trip

(Updated: July 5, 2013 with high resolution photos)

On March 19, 2006, we went on a field trip to Kamakura.

This field trip was organized by the schools foreign students support association which is run by volunteers (mostly old people). We only had to pay 300 yen and we got complementary lunch and round trip train tickets to Kamakura (former capital of Japan and now town with lots of temples south of Tokyo, about 1 hour I think).

The Great Buddha:

The Great Buddha of Kamakura is a bronze statue of Amida Buddha that is located on the grounds of the Kotokuin Temple. With a height of 13.35 meters, it is the second largest Buddha statue in Japan (the largest is located in the Todaiji Temple in Nara).

The statue was cast in 1252 and originally located inside a large temple hall. However, the temple buildings were washed away by a tsunami tidal wave in the end of the 15th century, and since then the Buddha stands in the open air.

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