Snow Country Region in Japan as a geographical area, covering towns in Gunma, Niigata and Nagano.
An overview of the area and what it has to offer, focusing mainly on winter sports,
the abundance of onsen and the high quality of local cuisine.
Showing posts with label naked man festival. Show all posts
Showing posts with label naked man festival. Show all posts
Another one for the diary - the Naked Man Festival in Urasa is on March 3rd and is definitely one you don't want to miss if you like unique winter festivals.
Giant candles, men clad in loincloths in a heaving, steaming mass trying to push their way into a temple - all the things you want from a winter celebration. The location itself is a beautiful temple and there is plenty going on in and around it. The streets leading up the temple from Urasa station are lined with food stalls hawking tasty treats so there is plenty to do once you have had your fill of the main event.
If you get a bit cold standing around in the winter snow then get yourself a nice warm cup of sake....complete with dried fish for flavor!
Occasionally Japan throws up those moments that are completely out there and the Naked Man Festival is certainly one of those.
Walking up from the station you would be forgiven for thinking that this is just another town winter matsuri, with food stalls lining the roads. But the closer you get to the Bishamon Temple, the stranger things get. The chanting gets louder, there are processions of men wearing little more than loincloths ( there is snow on the ground!) being escorted by similarly dressed men with giant candles and everyone seems to be drunk.
The loincloth-clad celebrants jump into a pool of icy water for purification, then dash into the main hall of the temple to join the throng of other half naked men to try to force their way into a small opening in the inner temple to obtain a blessing. The mob in the main hall are a steaming pile of bodies and it is quite a sight.
It is pretty out there as a festival and is a great night out. There is a real festival atmosphere and there is lots going on in and around the temple. Even if you don't fully know what is going on, you can't help but be blown away by this celebration that has an incredibly long history. The temple itself is a pretty amazing building and definitely worth a visit at another time.
