A cucumber purification ceremony will be held July 21 and 22 at Gochisan Rengeji Temple in Kyoto, where participants will write their name, age and ailment on a cucumber, rub their body with it and bury it in the ground so the sickness will go away.

The ceremony will take place from noon to 8 p.m. on July 21 and 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on July 22.

The participation fee is ¥1,000.

To get to the temple, take city bus 26 from Kyoto Station and get off at Omuro Ninnaji.

For more info, access kanko.city.kyoto.lg.jp/eventdetail.php?event_tab=tradition&eventid=130721102&year=2013&month=7&day=5 (in Japanese) or call 075-462-5300.

Speech in Osaka on providing care for elderly

The Kansai Modern Japan Group will host a speech next Thursday in Osaka in English titled "The Continuum of Care: Support for the Elderly in a South Osaka Neighborhood."

The speech by Iza Kavedzija, a JSPS postdoctoral fellow at Osaka University, will run from 6:30 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. Admission is free and no reservations are required.

The venue is the School of Human Sciences at Osaka University, near Handai Byoinmae Station on the Osaka Monorail.

For further details, send an email to __51e00b5d3c8b7__-u.ac.jp or call 06-6879-8065.

Nara's historical buildings lit up for summer

Visitors to the central part of the city of Nara will be able to enjoy illuminated historical buildings at night from Saturday to Sept. 29.

The pagoda at Kofukuji Temple, the gateway at Kasuga Taisha Shrine, the Nara National Museum and Ukimido Temple will be lit up from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. in July and August and from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. in September. Admission is free.

The venues are a five-minute walk from Kintetsu Nara Station and 20 minutes from JR Nara Station.

More info about the event can be found at yamatoji.nara-kankou.or.jp/contents/event.php?contents=0000003988&event=0000000002 (in Japanese) or call 0742-27-8677.

Inexpensive Japanese lessons for foreign kids

Volunteers at the Nagoya International Center will host summer Japanese-language classes for non-Japanese children from July 25 to Aug. 29.

The classes will run from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. every Thursday and Sunday except on Aug. 11 and 15. There will also be a class on Aug. 10.

The cost is just ¥1,000. Applications must be submitted at the center, a seven-minute walk from Nagoya Station, between 12:15 p.m. and 12:30 p.m. July 21.

More information can be found at www.nic-nagoya.or.jp/en/e/archives/3958 (in English) and the phone number is 052-581-5689.

Free consultations for workplace health woes

A hot line will be available from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on July 27 for foreigners who have been injured or gotten sick at work.

The number is 052-837-7420. The hot line will be hosted by Heart (Human, Earth & Rights), and the Nagoya Occupational Safety and Health Center. There will be no fee. Translation will be provided in Chinese, English, Filipino, Korean, Portuguese and Spanish.

Consultations will be kept confidential.

Further information is available at noshc.up.seesaa.net/image/E38381E383A9E382B7E5AE8CE68890E78988.pdf (in English).