Update from Holly

Before heading south to Kyoto, two of my friends kidnapped us and took us on a trip to Kamakura. Here you can see the bronze Buddha, standing 13.5 meters tall. It was a beautiful day, especially for January!

Who would think that a Buddha would have windows for shoulder blades? They allow for circulation and ventilation within the structure. The Buddha used to be housed in a wooden structure. Unfortunately, the wooden structure was distroyed during a typhoon, so the Buddha has remained without cover since.

Yes, you can see the "guts" of Buddha! For an extra yen or two, you can climb a narrow staircase to the base of the inside of the bronze statue and see how he was assembled. Amazing technology, especially given the date!

And what would a trip to Japan be without sake?!
Many thanks to our abductors, Kimiko Jo and Rie Hiroshima, two of my friends who live in Tokyo, for a wonderful day. We were rarely left unattended, which is probably a good thing. Two yanks in Japan could be a bit , shall we say, um, adventurous or.....

More to come... Holly