The Great Buddha at Todaiji Temple in Nara will go through its annual cleansing and purification ceremony Wednesday, and visitors will be allowed to watch the procedure from 7:30 a.m.

About 120 monks dressed in white will clean it, and the whole event will last from 7 a.m. until around 9:30 a.m.

Admission is ¥500 for junior high school students or above, and ¥300 for elementary school students.

To access the temple, take a city loop-line bus from JR or Kintetsu Nara Stations and get off at Daibutsuden Kasugataisha-mae.

For more information, check www.todaiji.or.jp/contents/function/08ominugui.html (in Japanese) or call 0742-22-5511.

Osaka to hold riverside fireworks display

A fireworks display will be held Aug. 10 along the Yodogawa River in Osaka. The event will start at 7:50 p.m. and end at 8:40 p.m.

The venue can be accessed on foot from various train stations, including Juso Station on the Hankyu Kobe, Kyoto, and Takarazuka lines, JR Osaka Station, and Umeda Station on the Hankyu and Hanshin lines and on the Midosuji subway line.

For more information about the event, go to www.yodohanabi.com (in Japanese) or call 06-6307-7765.

Suita foreign students offered assignment help

Foreign students at elementary, junior high and high schools in Suita, Osaka Prefecture, will have opportunities on Aug. 8, 15 and 22 to ask volunteers, including college students, for help with their school summer holiday assignments.

The sessions will run from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. each day, and participation is free. Reservations need to be made by calling Suita International Friendship Association at 06-6835-1192 or sending an email to [email protected].

The association is close to Minamisenri Station on the Hankyu Senri line. Further details are available at suita-sifa.org/blog/news/jishushitsu/ (in Japanese).

Samba, 'cosplay' to feature at Nagoya festival

The Osu Summer Festival will be held in Nagoya this Saturday and Sunday.

A samba carnival will be staged Saturday and a "cosplay" parade has been arranged for Sunday. Live stage performances, "taiko" (Japanese drum) shows, and a traditional Bon folk dance will take place from around noon into the evening on both days. The festival will finish with a hand-held fireworks display from 9 p.m. on Sunday.

The venue is a two-minute walk from Osu Kannon Station on the Tsurumai subway line.

More information is available at summer.nagoya-osu.com/summer_festa/ (in Japanese) and the phone number is 052-261-2287.

Nagoya NPO offers Japanese-language lessons

World Work Support will hold Japanese language classes every Saturday from Aug. 17 to Sept. 28 for people who wish to work in Japanese companies.

During the seven sessions organized by the NPO, which run between 10 a.m. and 11:45 a.m., students will learn not only the language but also about employment laws, business manners, formal greetings and how to write resumes and take job interviews.

The cost is ¥3,000 to cover textbook fees. To join the program, send an email at [email protected] or send a fax to 052-353-5929. Participants need to be 15 years old or older and to be able to speak basic Japanese. The sessions will take place at Nagoya International Center, a seven-minute walk from Nagoya Station.