Autumn in IUJ (Urasa) - Part 2

This is the main gate of IUJ (International University of Japan)




This is the favourite spot for photo taking in IUJ, especially during spring where cherry blossoms bloom along the narrow path.

Autumn in IUJ (Urasa) - Part 1

Jinja Sacred Gate

This is the sacred gate (torii) in front of a jinja (Shrine), that delimit the sacred grounds and have become the symbol of Japan. This jinja is Hakkai San Jinja where the Fire Walking Festival is held every year.

Lion Statue

Sacred Candle

It was believed that the fire from this candle will bring good luck to you. Sway your hands towards the fire and pretend to grab it, then put your hands onto your head. This is how the local people do it.

Colourful Sky

This display is part of the Fire Walking Festival events in Urasa. Beautiful, ain't it?

Fire Walking Festival

Hakkai-san is the name of the holly mountain nearby. The Shinto Shrine where the festival takes place is called Hakkai-san Jinja. The festival falls under the Shinto religion and participants come from all over Japan to pray and walk across hot coals as a statement of their faith. This is a very colorful and interesting event. There are food booths and a few shops set up there as well. SO go for lunch, or at least enjoy one of the sweat treats!

(source: UMEX)

Japan Sausage a.k.a Hotdog

A sausage is a prepared food, usually made from ground meat, animal fat, salt, and spices (sometimes with other ingredients such as herbs), typically packed in a casing. Sausage making is a traditional food preservation technique.

Traditionally, casings are made of animal intestines though are now often synthetic. Some sausages are cooked during processing, and the casing may be removed after that. Sausages may be preserved by curing, drying in cool air, or smoking.

When I bought this sausage, I was given the sausage with two types of sauce, one is the tomato ketchup (quite common) and the other one is wasabi sauce. How does it taste? If you like wasabi, you will definitely like this sausage.

(source: Wikipedia)

Anime Characters

Pictured above are some of the famous anime characters in Japan. Doraemon, Hello Kitty, Pokemon, etc.

Anime (アニメ, Anime? literally - "Anima", taken from half of "animation") (pronounced [anime] listen (help·info) in Japanese, but typically pronounced /ˈænɪmeɪ/ or /ˈænɪmə/ in English) is animation in Japan and considered to be "Japanese animation" in the rest of the world.[1] Anime dates from about 1917.[2]

Anime, in addition to manga (Japanese comics), is extremely popular in Japan and well known throughout the world. Anime itself is considered a form of limited animation. Anime can be released either by television broadcast or released directly to video, in which case it is often called OVA or OAV (Original Animation Video).

Anime can be hand-drawn or computer animated. It is used in television series, films, video, video games, commercials, and internet-based releases, and represents most, if not all, genres of fiction.

(source: Wikipedia)

Banana Choco