Kamakura

Last week I went to a tea ceremony. It is a 1200 thousand year old Japanese tradition, that is strongly influenced by Zen Buddhism. Now it is held in the oldest part of Tokyo (Kamakura) once every year. Or something like that. I couldn't really focus on it, because of the intense knee pain I got from kneeling for two hours. I almost fell through one of those paper screens when I tried to stand up, my legs were so numb. Kamakura is a real cool place. At one time it was the capital of Japan, and has some of the oldest architecture. After the tea ceremony, we we walked to the Diabutsu, which means giant Buddha. And man was is it big! Ulli the German said it's possibly the biggest Buddha he will ever see in his life. And you know what? I think I will probably only see a bigger Buddha once in my life. Maybe! Another great thing about Kamakura, is that it is on the Pacific, and as you walk towards the ocean, you kind of sense the city turning into a surf town. We caught the sunset as we made it to the beach.



Now it is Christmas Eve. 11:30 p.m. I am going to welcome Christmas day with Rocky, and tomorrow I am not going to do anything really special, except talk to my family, and pack for my upcoming trip to Hokkaido. Insanely enough I don't mind spending Christmas by myself.