"I Saw a Giant Buddha!" .... and other unbelievable tales.

Hello all! I have had a lovely last few days.

Spaghetti & Unicycles

Last Thursday I helped out for the day at my friend Fred's Shogakko (elementary school). It was my first time at an elementary school in Japan and I was really amazed. The school had a lovely vegetable garden, a pond (which the students help to make), a beautiful bright building, many unicycles and stilts for the kids to play with (which, I hear are standard play equipment in Japanese Shogakkos), and an amazing Kocho Sensei (principle) who showed me all the handmade toys he makes for his students (he gave me a bamboo helicopter to keep for myself).

I helped Fred teach three classes - ichi, ni, and san nensei (first, second, and third year). We sang "Wheels on the Bus" and "No More Monkeys Jumping on the Bed". We practiced the names of vegetables and the time in English. All the kids lined up at the end of class and shook both Fred and my hand.

At lunch Fred and I sat down at the ichi nensei table and we ate our spaghetti with the giggling little kids (I spilt a bunch of it on myself, so their classroom teacher offered me her apron to wear :).

Then after lunch we played outside with kids. I built a giant mt. Fuji out of sand with a group of girls, pushed some other children on the swings, and then played a version of tag in which I was the "oni" (demon) and had to catch the kids. It was exausting, but wonderfully fun. I am going to help out at another Shogakko that Fred teaches at this Friday (yay!)


Big Buddha, Beaches, and Bellydancing



On Sat Lynn and I headed out to spend the weekend in Kamakura and Yokohama. After several hours and several train transfers we arrived at Kamakura station. We checked out a few temples near the station. The plum blossoms were beautiful. Then we stoped for some soba (buckwheat noodles) and tempura.







After lunch we decided to go on a hike to the famous Diabutsu (Great Buddha). We followed a small cemented path, that slowly disapeared into earth as we got deeper and deeper into the forest. The trees were beautiful - their roots were twisted and raised out of the earth. It was a quiet, blissful escape from the crowds at the temples.





We came out to a clearing and there was a small japanese house and an old man. He smiled at us and beckoned us to follow him, saying only "Sakura". We followed him behind his house and there was a beautiful pink tree with new buds in bloom. Beautiful.

Then we continued on our trail. We came across a cave opening with a torii gate at the side of a hill. We stepped through and found a shinto shrine hidden in a cliff. We looked in my lonely planet we had brought and discovered it was a "money washing" shrine. The story goes, if you wash your money there in a natural mountain brook, it will multiply. So Lynn and I got little baskets and slipped into a little cave on the side of the shrine. There were thousands of colourful paper cranes hanging from the ceiling and many minuture torii gates. In a corner was a little open brook and we emptied our pockets and washed our yen clean.

Stepping out through the cliff opening of the shinto shrine, we continued on our journey to the Great Buddha. The sun was warm and cast a twinkling glow on us through the trees. Eventually the forest thinned and we saw a stone step way descending. So, we took the steps and saw a sign that directed us towards the Great Buddha.

From a good distance we saw its bronze head rising. At a total hight of 13.3 meters it was quite the sight. All around the buddha were crowds of tourists vieing for the best view of the buddha. Standing bellow him and looking up I felt like his eyes were cast down directly at me. He was beautiful. Off on the side were also a giant pair of woven sandles displayed. We walked around the buddha and saw two large windows open like wings at his back. People were lined up to enter him. We decided not to pay the fee to go inside (our friend Olivia had done it before and it was quite hot inside and not worth the fee). We took many pictures of him, though, from many angles.

Then we walked across the road to a the most beautiful temple grounds I have ever seen - Hasedera. Several temple structures are built trailing up the side of a hill. On the foot of the hill a bridge spans over a pond. Carp swim lazely within the water. A small waterfall washes down a cliff beside. Stepping stones cross from one flower-covered edge of the pond to the other.

There were thousands of jizo statues clustered together with the sweetest incense burning. Some of the jizo were wraped in silk scarves with glass necklaces around their throat, while others wore woolen red caps and bibs.

Following a stone step way up the side of the hill we reached the temple of the largest wooden Kannon (goddess of mercy) in Japan.

A little History: This Kannon statue was originally carved in 721 AD out of a camphor tree by Buddhist Priest Tokudo-Shonin. It was thrown in the sea with the prayer that it would reappear to save the people. Sixteen years later, durring the night of June 18th of the year 736, the statue drifted to Nagai beach off Miura in Sagami Province, sending out rays of light as it drifted ashore. The statue was then transported to Kamakura where its maker, Tokudo-Shonin constructed a temple with it as the central image - called the "Center of Bliss". In 1342 gold leaf was applied to it and in 1392 a halo was placed around its head.

Moving from the bright light of outside to the dim lighting of the temple of Kannon, my eyes slowly adjusted. I saw the great golden Kannon rising before me. Not quite woman and, yet, not quite man it rose infront of me crowned with buddha and many other small heads (symbolizing the diffrent stages of enlightenment).

I stepped closer and staired into its face and literally felt myself being hypnotized by its beauty. I was overcoming by a feeling of peace and gratitude. Like the great buddha, the kannon's eyes seemed to be peering down directly at me below. My heart felt felt warm in my chest and I felt so happy. I staired and staired at the kannon above me. I knew I had to move on to other things, but I could have stood there for hours. It was an amazing experience.

We wandered more through the temple grounds and saw a great view of the beaches of Kamakura below. There was also a real deep dark cave in one of the cliff sides. We crouched low and walked through the darkened winding tunnels and found many little statues of a goddess playing the koto (japanese harp) placed on the walls of the cave. Coming out into the sunshine again we decided to head down to the beach.

Hedged in by mountains on all sides in Kofu, I have started to long for the open expanse of the blue horizon over the ocean.

So we wandered through the surfing town of kamakura and came out to the open beach. I was overhwelmed with glee . I danced around feeling the crisp ocean breeze on my skin. I trailed my fingers in the cold ocean shore and found a perfect white shell to take with me.

Later that night we went out for Turkish food in Yokohama (yum yum), smoked a mint/apple hooka, and watched a japanese and a brazilian lady bellydance. It was the most lovely day.

The next day we woke up early to a rainy day. Undaunted, we got up and found some umbrellas at a combini and wandered through the deserted streets of an early morning china town. Yokohama has one of the biggest china towns in the world. There are street after street of bright red lanters, intericately decorated, gold-trimmed buildings, and a beautiful chinese temple. All the shops were still closed and with the rain sprinkling down there was a secret stillness as we wandered through street and alley.

All in all it was a lovely weekend. You can watch a slideshow of my trip here.

Here is a great Youtube video I found of Hasedera temple.