A Guide to Japan's Most Unique Festivals

When: Third Saturday in February
Where: Okayama
Also more colloquially known as ‘the naked festival’,Hadaka Matsuri is one of the country’s most infamous celebrations, no prizes for guessing why. Held in Okayama, capital city of Okayama Prefecture the event sees nine thousand men wearing only loincloths gather to battle it out in the during the freezing Japanese winter, in the hope of acquiring a pair of lucky sacred sticks. These sticks are tossed into the heaving mass of almost naked bodies by a priest. Legend has it that the one who manages to get the sticks is coined the ‘lucky man’, and is blessed with a year of happiness. The event dates back around 500 years, when it was once a New Year’s good luck tradition.

When: Late July
Where: Furano
A little younger than most other festivals, the Hokkai Heso Matsuri aka The Belly Button Festival was founded in 1969 as a initiative for the people of Furano, a city in Hokkaido, to unify. Geographically the population of the area is spread across a large mass of land, so the city needed a reason to gather. So what better reason than to celebrate the bellybutton? In its early days the event struggled to gain momentum, in fact the first ever event reportedly saw just 11 people turn up. Over time however the humorous celebration saw a swell in popularity and today thousands gather to admire the show which features dancers who have painted their bellybuttons to look like a face.

When: Late February
Where: All across Japan
The name setsubun literally means ‘seasonal division’ however over time this celebration has been more commonly known as ‘bean throwing festival’. It’s a time for people to rid themselves of all the evil of the previous year and scare away disease-bringing evil spirits for the year to come, it’s like a traditional new year’s ritual of sorts. In Japan springtime is considered the time of fresh beginnings. Essentially the festival custom consists of festival-goers throwing roasted soybeans and chanting “in with fortune! Out with evil”. Often the celebrations begin in at home and move out onto the streets and towards the shrine grounds which are lined with performers and parade marchers wishing for a healthy and prosperous new year.

When: Once every six years in April and May
Where: Lake Suwa
A little more dangerous than swearing and bean throwing, the Onbashira matsuri held in Lake Suwa, Nagano is all about risking life and limb. The event sees locals drag and carry enormous logs over unforgiving terrain all completely by hand with the assistance of nothing more than thickly braided ropes and gravity. The festival is split into two parts two parts, Yamadashi and Satobiki. The first part, Yamadashi, is focused on the cutting down and dangerous transporting of the logs. It also involves teams of men riding the logs down the hill which is as dangerous as it looks. Participants are often injured and occasionally killed during the festivities. The second part of the event, Satobiki, is just as nerve wracking. During Satobiki the logs are hoisted into the air and participants again ride atop the logs singing traditional festive songs. The purpose of the event is to symbolically renew the local buildings at the Suwa Grand Shrine.

When: Early September
Where: Miyakojima-shi
Did your parents ever threaten that monsters were coming to get you if you didn’t behave? Well then just be thankful you didn’t grow up in Miyakojima-shi city in Okinawa, because here is where all your childhood nightmares come true. During Paantu Punaha festivities locals dress up as the incredibly spooky Paantu, a supernatural being covered in mud and foliage. Their aim is to cover everything they see in mud, including bystanders. The event’s activities are all a form of exorcism, an attempt expel evil spirits and bring good fortune to the town and its people.

When: New Year’s
Where: Oga City
Feel sorry for the kids of Oga City, in Akita, because during New Year’s a creature like Paantu is the least of their worries. On New Year’s eve the city of Oga is overrun by Namahage, the truly terrifying monsters who live the neighbouring mountainsides. A tradition that’s been passed down since ancient times, the Namahage Festival sees local houses visited by locals dressed up in large masks and straw raincoats to ask residents whether their children have been behaving, because if not, it’s off to the mountains for them. In order to appease the menacing creatures the head of the household offers the Namahage mochi (rice cakes) and assures them that the children have been good, and will continue to be so in the next year. It’s a pretty extreme way to keep the children in line, but it’s probably a lot of fun.