Ainu Kotan is a small Ainu village near Lake Akan. The village comprising some 40 Ainu households live here in scattered huts in an attempt to preserve the Ainu culture. The Ainu are greatly skilled in wood works and various shops can be found in the village selling wood carvings and embroidery.
Culture
The Nio Guardians of Japan
Nio guardians are the protectors at the entrance to Buddhist Temples in Japan. With their bare-chested bodies rippling with muscles, fierce visages, and brandishing weapons they seem violent and threatening. In the pair, one usually has its mouth shut to ward off evil demons while the other with an open-mouth welcomes the good spirits inside the temple.
Ringing in the new year at Todai-ji
We decided to do something different this new year eve. We walked down to Todaiji at midnight to usher in the new year with the blessings of the great Daibutsu. For it is only during New Year eve that the upper doors, in front of the face of the Great Buddha, are opened so all can witness the eyes of the Daibutsu.