Kamakura and others

Hey everyone,

sorry for not posting regularly, but here's some new pictures for you guys to look at. These are all from my trip to kamakura. I went on Sunday. Kamakura is famous for having the second largest Buddha statue in the world. I think the best part about going to Kamakura was just getting out of Tokyo. Kamakura is about two and a half hours away. It was totally worth the trip though. The first thing I noticed when I got there was that there were a lot of trees.


Above is a monk in front of the daibutsu. i think we were supposed to put money in his dish.

the daibutsu

I just liked the way this lion's face looked.
This is what kamakura is famous. The second largest buddha statue in the world. I went with Luis and Claudia.


People drying their money at the money temple.


a cat sleeping at a temple. it was friendly so i got to pet it.



The outside of the money shrine. I'm not sure what its actually called. I really liked this shrine because it was in the middle of the forest and on the outside it looks really small and quiet and then you go through a tunnel and see all of the hustle and bustle.
This is a money washing ritual. Apparently you have to douse you're money to wash and it will give you good luck. I totally did it, but accidentally spent the money I was supposed to wash. I hope that's not bad luck.


I'm not sure what I'm staring at here...



Just a cool looking Japanese house at one of the shrines. This was at one of the last shrines we went to that day.

I will post again soon,

-Ana

harajuku

I went to Harajuku today and it was totally awesome. I took all these pictures and more in Harakjuku. These are the best ones though.

THere was some sort of body building contest going on in front of a store. I wish I had more pictures of the girl. She was so buff!!!

I love how this guy is wearing sparkly blue bracelets and headband.

This dog was very popular in Harajuku. That's supposed to be a heart on its back. All the girls were like "kawaiiiii~~~" Im pretty sure it also had a paint job which is hard to see in these photos.

I also went to a park in Harajuku. There was ltos of cool stuff there.

This was my favorite ikebana display. I just love the way the branches arch into the sky.

Some ikebana displays in the park.

The park in Harajuku was enormous.

Some more really cool ikebana displays.

I was lucky enough to run into a Japanese wedding in action. I took a million pictures but these are the best ones. I was right behind the real camera man, so I got a pretty good shot. There was like three weddings going on at the same time. This couple was the handsomest though. The guy was totally cute :]

Another one of the couples getting married, I think. She was not wearing the same white outfit as the other brides. She had an intricate red kimono on.

This is the entrance to the park. This gate was HUGE.

I am starting school tomorow finally. I've had all this time to myself basically. I am interested to see what the classes will be like.

I will post again soon

-Ana

dorm pictures

Hi everyone,

I have safely arrived in Japan!

Here are some pictures of my dorm. Sorry the bathroom picture is sideways. I forgot to rotate it before i posted it.

I took these pictures right when I got in. I also have a balcony that I forgot to take a picture of. Overall, its not bad. The bathroom is really small though. It like an airplane bathroom with a shower.

I have my own little kitchen area too, so I can attempt to make my own food.

This is where I will be staying for four months. Its still a little hard to comprehend....

-Ana