As we were walking back to the train station, we stumbled upon this temple and were so glad that we did. The Hase-Dera Temple is dedicated to the goddess of mercy, Kannon. The temple grounds contain a whole complex of different houses and building dedicated to different gods and statues. In the main building there is a huge statue (30 feet tall) which has 11 different heads and each face has a different expression depicting Kannon's compassion for all kinds of human suffering (you can't take pictures in there, so I don't have a picture of it--you just have to come see it for yourself). There were several other halls and a little museum here also. Here are pictures of some of the things that we saw.
Ethan making friends with the statue--actually he thought it was his Uncle Aaron--okay, I can see the resemblance!
Ethan and Eric under a shinto gate that leads into a cave where there are things chiseled into the rocks--it was kind of interesting.
This is a massive bronze bell and following Buddhist tradition, the bell is rung 108 times beginning around midnight on Dec. 31 each year to to dispel the 108 sufferings of humanity (I have no clue what the sufferings are).
Kailey and I meditating by one of the meditation gardens--okay, really we needed to sit down and rest!
Ethan hiding near the little bamboo forest--notice the three cute statues in the background.
Ethan learning to pray like the Buddhists.
Trying to find food to feed the koi--thanks Dad, we can't pass a koi pond without Ethan throwing something in it!
Ethan trying to be like his Aunt Brooke (Tolman) and light incense.
This was the Jizo-do Hall and surrounding the hall are thousands of little Jizo stone statues standing in long rows, some wearing bibs or knit caps and festooned with cute charms. The statues are there to comfort the souls of unborn children. I thought this was kind of sad, there were several people lighting candles and incense while saying prayers here.
Some of the statues of unborn children--there were tons of them.
Family picture overlooking the ocean
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