Hello again. I've been in Japan for a week now. I'm now used to taking a taxi every day and going to the same hotel. We are leaving in two days, but today is my last coarse, and I learned about Japan's important landmarks. I learned about Mount. Fuji twice this week, but here is some of the other stuff that I learned about it. Mount. is with 3,776 meters Japan's highest mountain. It is not surprising that the nearly perfectly shaped volcano has been a sacred mountain and experienced big popularity among artists and common people. It is a dormant volcano, which most recently erupted in 1708 (wich was not very recent). It stands on the border between Yamanashi and Shizuoka, Prefectures can be seen from Tokyo and Yokohama on clear days. The easiest way to view Mount Fuji is on a train trip along the Tokaido Line, that is between Tokyo and Osaka. If you take the Shinkansen train from Tokyo in direction of Nagoya, Kyoto and Osaka, the best view of Mount Fuji can be enjoyed from around Shin-Fuji Station on the right hand side of the train, about 40 to 45 minutes after leaving Tokyo. Note however, that clouds and poor visibility often block the view of Mount Fuji, and you have to consider yourself lucky if you get a clear view of the mountain. Visibility seems to be better during the colder seasons of the year than in summer, and in the early morning and late evening hours. If you want to enjoy Mount Fuji at a more leisurely pace and from a nice natural surrounding, you should head to the Fuji Five Lake region at the northern area of the mountain, or to Hakone, a nearby hot spring resort. Mount Fuji is open for climbing during July and August via several routes. I'm not planning to climb it, especially in February! I'm glad that I got a picture infront of it.
I also learned about the Shrines and Buddha Statues. Here is what I learned about the Shrines. They are an important part of the Japanese culture. The Japanese people visit these shrines for a number of reasons ranging from paying respect to the Kami gods or to pray for a prosperous future. People also flock to these shrines during special occasions like New Year, setsubun, shichigosan, etc. New born babies are usually taken to these shrines and marriages also take place in these shrines. Here I am infront of one. On the tour, they let us each take an endividual picture of one.
The Buddha statues are bigger than the pictures, but this was the best that I could get!
This Buddha statue was name Amida. Amida is one of the loftiest figures in Japanese Buddhism, and Amida faith is concerned primarily with the life to come, the life in the beyond. Amida is also one of the Five Tathagata of Wisdom. The world-famous Big Buddha (Daibutsu) statue in Kamakura, around 15 meters in height. To followers of Japan's Pure Land sects, Amida has eclipsed the Historical Buddha as the most popular divinity in Japan's Mahayana traditions. sometimes I wonder how people put up with making those! It probably takes lots of patience! And to make it that big!
Another Buddha Statue that I saw today was this one.
Kayla
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