KATSUO-JI TEMPLE

I went to a really nice temple in Minoo on Friday, called Katsuo-ji. It is famous for being the "Daruma Temple." Daruma is the little bobble-looking doll figure of Bodhidharma, the wandering monk who is also the Patriarch of Chan/Zen Buddhism.
These particular daruma are divorced of their original Zen meanings and re-appropriated as "kachi-daruma", which means "Winning-Daruma" and are used to pray for victory or a particular wish to come true. They are one of my favorite "characters" of Japan and they are bought for a couple of hundred yen and placed all over the grounds of Katsuo-ji. It makes for an intersting walk through the grounds, to be sure! When i was there the grounds were almost completely empty of other people (i only saw three other visitors) so it was very peaceful and i was able to walk up the mountain quite a ways and discover parts of the grounds that tourists probably don`t usually see. I also nearly broke my neck coming back down the set of muddy ancient stairs that look like they may have been there since the temple was founded in 727A.D.! The view from the top was also amazing.





so many Daruma...


so many stairs... why did i try to run up them?


Statue and Stupa


Spot the Daruma!! it`s the ancient precursor to Where`s Waldo!


The Deadly Ancient Stairs (sounds like a cool band name...)


view from the top of the deadly stairs:


it`s lonely at the top. this statue was all by itself waaaaaay at the top of the deadly stairs and then a little further. someone else had been there recently to offer some juice, coffee and flowers, though.


those Daruma are EVERYWHERE!!! these ones were keeping company with this ogre who was one of four holding the insence cauldron in front of the main alter.

funny cuz it`s true...

lots of friends online? feel closer... at a distance...

check out The Daily Show`s report on social networking online here.

enjoy!

RIZE

so i just came back from watching David LaChapelle`s film RIZE and now i feel like dancing all over the living room. naw, i`ll probably break something. awesome movie, though! there`s a little disclaimer at the beginning that says "none of the film in this movie has been sped up." it`s a good thing that disclaimer is there cuz otherwise you might wonder. those kids can move!! i still like breakdancing much better but that was some very very impressive dancing! the music for the movie (much of which is original for the film) was also stellar. definitely check it out if you get the chance.

the saddest little puppy...

or possibly the weirdest/funniest thing i`ve seen all day... this little hobo (canadian reference there) was just outside my building, lost in the rain. it`s a grey and damp day here in Osaka, which especially sucks cuz it`s my only day off this week. ah well, this cheered me up immensely.



and now back to studying Japanese... by which i mean watching Olympic hockey with the textbook open in front of me...

the cold sports thingy...

GO TEAM CANADA!!!

Canada just beat Italy 7-2 in Ice Hockey!! woohoo!

now we`ll see what happens with Czech and Germany...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MICHELLE!!!

wishing a very happy birthday to the lovely Lady Culligan, and hoping she is well and warm in the wasteland that is Newmarket, Ontario. snowy wastelend, the internet informs me. your package is on the way but i only mailed it on monday so it may not get there for a while. sorry!

in the meantime here is a picture of ReeraKuma (aka "Relax-Bear" or "Lazy-Bear") to tide you over:





my dad and step-mom actually just bought a house and moved to Newmarket. cute little house, but... Newmarket?!? i guess it`s a step up from Aurora where they used to live... meh.

Valentine`s Breakfast

so this morning i woke up really early (7am) and made breakfast for Ulala (my girlfriend). she has to go to work pretty early - well, a lot earlier than i do - and i won`t be home till late so i figured breakfast would be the best time to do something for Valentine`s Day. so i made her french toast in the shape of hearts and covered it in sliced strawberries (so the hearts looked red) and surrounded it all with sliced bananas and a little drizzle of chocolate sauce (just a little - it is still breakfast after all!). am i a sap or what? take a look: