This is the cool temple that we visited. This was my first temple, but Jen and Danielle had gone temple hunting before. It was so cool!! (See diary for more info.)

These first four pictures are of the inside of the temple which was built 200 years ago. There are 500 of these little wooden statues called Rakan. Quoting from English translation of the pamphlet: "Rakan are Buddha's desciples. There is one Buddha with 10 desciples and 5 hundred other smaller ones who have lower status. Japanese people believe that we can see in Rakan images of our family and friends who have passed away." There are offering boxes set in front of the statues. I put money in, clapped, and prayed. I didn't have any incense or candles to burn, though. I only know about the money and clapping part. ^_^* In a way, this temple reminded me of the old cathedrals we visited in Quebec. Very interesting.

Picture five is outside of the temple we were just in (I was told by Danielle that these wooden paddles are all prayers that people have written) and the rest of the pictures are snapshots of the surrounding grounds. I don't know what everything is for, but it was very pretty and peaceful.