Japan's Ruriden columbarium: Crystal Buddhas and LED lights for a spectacular afterlife [Photos]

Funeral arrangements are normally for those left behind, but many people in Japan now prepare their own funerals and graves. A Buddhist temple in Tokyo offers a high-tech resting place for those seeking a brighter afterlife.

The Ruriden columbarium at the Koukoko-ji Temple houses over 2,046 crystal Buddha statues, each illuminated by high-powered LED lights. Behind each Buddha is a drawer storing people's ashes.

Family members of those whose remains are interred here can enter a PIN code to light up the Buddha statue in front of the deceased's remains.

It is a very modern, very spectacular way of dealing with death in the rapidly ageing Japanese society. One in four people in Japan is over 65, and the population of 127 million is expected to shrink by nearly 30 million people over the next 50 years.

The ashes are stored for 33 years before being buried below the Ruriden.