On the 3rd of March, a famous event punctuating Urasa’s busy life every year was held. This is a 裸祭り, or Naked Man Festival. Concept is quite simple, participants just have to get naked. No actually you are just half-naked wearing some kind of traditional outfit, plus straw sandals (very easy to break by the way). It is about bringing big candles (around 40Kgs each) in front of the Temple, taking a cold bath and trying to see a buddha statue in a not very accessible lodge. The key here: pushing, pushing and pushing…

On the 22nd of February,we went inside Honda’s Saitama Factory, a place where they produce cars such as the Odyssey, a best seller in Japan. It was offered by the IM school to all students enrolled in the Operations Management course. It was about 2hours from IUJ by bus, so I spent most of the time sleeping… Another thing is, no picture inside the factory was allowed. Also a good opportunity to spent a day outside IUJ. More pics inside!!

Continue Reading ->