Kamakura

Two weeks ago we went to Kamakura, a small town on the coast to the south of Tokyo. We intended to go to a festival, but someone (named Gen) misread the website so we went to the wrong temple. No matter, it was super cool. This is the Great Buddha of Kamakura. He is giant (about 37 feet tall).

He was built (?sculpted?) in 1252 and was originally housed inside a temple, but the temple washed away in a tsunami. It really is an incredible sight.

There's Gen! This was one of the nicest days (weather-wise) we've had here. April has been very pleasant overall. I'm dreading the summer. My hair isn't going to like the rainy season. Apparently it rains almost every day and it's sweltering. Fun.

Some pretty flowers on the temple ground.

This is the inside of the Buddha. It costs 20 yen to go inside (about 20 cents). It's made of bronze and (obviously) hollow inside. There have been some restorations, such as reinforcing the neck and shoring up the foundation, but overall it's intact. How amazing that it has been standing for nearly 800 years.

Buddha's sandals.

In other news, people are freaking out about the swine flu and there aren't even any cases here. Apparently there was a scare yesterday. A Japanese woman came back from LA with the flu, but it was just regular flu. The airports have thermal sensors to detect fever. Gen's company has stopped all international travel. I hope everyone at home is happy and healthy.