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Published: February 18th 2008
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Yes, every single week there is at least one festival happening somewhere in Japan! This weekend it was off to Okayama on the shinkansen (bullet train) to watch the Hadaka Matsuri (English translation: NAKED FESTIVAL!)
I was keen to get there early on Saturday to get my sightseeing fill. Laura “I don’t do mornings!” Lewis decided to join me later on so I arrived in Okayama around lunchtime and after a drink and sandwich set off for Okayama castle and the famous Korakuen Garden (translated: Garden of Pleasure After) and is listed as one of the top 3 gardens in the whole of Japan. As the sun was shining, I visited the garden first and had a fabulous time trying out all the settings on my camera to capture the beautiful flowers which had started to blossom. The garden was very peaceful and although it was cold, the sun was so strong that I comfortably sat on a bench and read some of my book for a while! Michelle joined me a little later and we visited Okayama castle which was stunning - a very dark and menacing exterior but beautiful inside with lovely views over the garden from the
top floor.
When Laura, Sarah and Poppy had arrived, we all set off for some food and found an all-you-can-eat restaurant where you cook your own food. There were health and safety issues that would have been in the newspapers in England (there was a massive pan of bubbling hot oil in the middle of our table - like a chip pan!) and all our food was on sticks which we had to put into the pan… we lost a lot of food along the way which fell off the sticks… they were burnt to a crisp by the time we had finished! Michelle also accidentally dropped a plastic spoon in which melted straight away and stuck to the bottom! Bet they won’t be inviting foreigners back again anytime soon! It was also an all-you-can-drink place so we kept the waiters busy with orders of wine and beer … only to keep us warm for the next part of our evening of course!
We took the train to a station just outside Okayama city and met up with Lisa, Chris, Matt, Alex and Dave… all friends which I haven’t seen since the sumo weekend, so it was great
to catch up.
We walked towards the shrine and soon saw hoards of men dressed only in fundoshi (the nappy type things that they wear in sumo fights) and socks… poor, cold men! Basically, the aim of the festival is to run around naked (duh!), purify yourself by jumping into a river of cold water, drinking lots of sake to keep warm and then running to the shrine shouting ‘washoi!’ (wonderful!) … at midnight, the shrine is packed with THOUSANDS of men who are pushing and shoving like crazy to get to the centre of the shrine. The lights go out and then 2 sticks are dropped from the ceiling… whoever catches them must run to the city hall and plant them in a pot of mud… whoever manages to do this gets a large cash prize and good luck for the whole year - not a bad prize, eh?!
We joined in with the chants of ‘washoi!’ and gave high fives to all the freezing guys running past to offer our support! Midnight was chaotic to say the least and, to be honest, we didn’t understand what had happened as I couldn’t see anyone running! Maybe the
shrine was in the opposite direction to where I was standing! I hope the 2 men who caught the sticks really do have good luck for the year… as soon as they come out of hospital for all the beatings and bruises which they must have suffered on their journey to the city hall!
To continue the evening, we set off for the Aussie Bar and stayed here drinking and dancing until 5am… some of us were starting to feel tired, so we found a ‘love hotel’ nearby and had fun trying to get a room. I won’t go into detail about what a love hotel involves but let’s just say that Poppy, Matt and I got very surprised eyes from the manager when we suggested going in one room together to save money! Unfortunately, Matt crashed out on the bed like a starfish and Poppy was squeezed into a corner of the bed and there was no space for me, so I spent a few hours trying to sleep on the very tacky leopard print couch… uhhhh, I have never felt so dirty! But it was a hilarious experience!
The next morning (well, later on that morning!)
we stumbled to Maccie D’s for some grub and then had a little shop before taking the shinkansen home… and snoozing all the way!
I wonder which festival I’ll be attending next weekend…?!
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helen
non-member comment
Hey I don't think much of your naked man he has a saggy cheek! Do they have a naked woman festival I could do with some cash and luck at the mo. I know your next job, a photographer. You need to sleep more you can't burn the candles at both ends. I would of kicked Matt of the bed though, your the lady after all. Life will seem so dull when you come home, we will have to invent some festivals like Naked men in the forest festival. Wonderful! Keep having fun, bed calls love helen xxx