Tops Tuesdays: Setsubun

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Setsubun falls on the day before the first day of spring in Japan. This year, Setsubun occurred on February 3rd. The people of Japan usually eat dried soy beans and try to eat the same number of beans as their age. This makes it difficult for the elderly members of the community to keep up with the Setsubun tradition. Eating soy beans is said to attract health and happiness to the lives of the consumer over the course of the following year. The soy beans also serve another purpose, because as it turns out, local demons called "oni" are terrified of soy beans. Who'd have thought? Children are encouraged to pelt someone dressed in an oni costume with soy beans while shouting, "Demons out! Luck in!" to scare demons away from the house. The idea is to force bad luck out, and encourage good luck into the home. Entrance-ways are sometimes decorated with sardines and holly to prevent evil spirits from entering the dwelling. 

Additionally, it is tradition to eat a makizushi (a giant sushi roll) in silence while facing the year's lucky direction as determined by the zodiac (2013 is the year of the snake) on this day. You may have noticed an abundance of huge uncut makizushi rolls in the sushi section of many Japanese supermarkets last Sunday. Ginger sake is also customarily drunk on Setsubun. 

These days, the people of Japan usually visit a shrine on Setsubun where various sweets and treats are handed out to the visitors. Some shrine's invite celebrities and sumo wrestlers to visit on Setsubun and these events are usually televised nationally. 

T.G.I.F.: Kasuga Wakamiya On-Matsuri

Over the next few days (from December 15th through 18th), the "Kasuga Wakamiya On Matsuri" at Nara's Kasuga Taisha (shrine) is being held. The festival has roots in 12th century Japan when the city was in the midst of a plague epidemic. You can see shrine maidens and adorable children in traditional costume offering up their prayers for good health and a rich harvest. Festivities reach their peak on the 17th. Click the image below for more details.

Image Source: http://narashikanko.or.jp/en/

T.G.I.F.: Ito "Butt-Pinching" Festival

You read that correctly.

At Otonashi shrine (音無神社) in Ito this Saturday you can enjoy the 36th annual “Butt-Pinching” Festival. Why the "Butt-Pinching" Festival? Well, because the festival involves a ritual where you are given some sacred sake to drink but before you can drink it, you must pinch the buttocks of the people around you. The festival runs from 6:30pm until around 9:00pm. Highlights include taiko (drum) performances and “booty sumo” (it's what it sounds like). If you are looking to see some of the weird and wonderful things that Japan has to offer, this event will likely be a memorable experience. Ladies, however, are warned that the likelihood of lecherous old men being in attendance is strong. You have been warned.

Otonashi Shrine is a 15 minute walk from Ito station (just follow the crowds). Ito can be reached by taking the JR Tokaido Line and changing at Atami. And if you are planning to stay the night, I definitely recommend K's House.  

I couldn't find a picture of the "Butt-Pinching" Festival so here is a picture of someone's butt. 

T.G.I.F.: Sengen Shrine Annual Festival

Approximately 53 days left until Christmas! Yay! This weekend, the place to be is Fujinomiya in Shizuoka Prefecture for its biggest festival of the year; the Sengen Shrine Annual Festival. On the 3rd, 4th and 5th of November in the area around the Sengen Shrine you can experience the usual fare of a Japanese "matsuri" such as food stalls around the shrine and some "mikoshi" (big floats).

The main event is on the 4th (Sunday) where all the "dashi" (huge floats with "taiko" drummers) congregate toward the shrine to compete against each other.

And here's a hot tip: at the main information desk near the shrine, you can get a "masu" (small wooden box for drinking sake). When you buy it, they will give you a map of all the free sake tasting areas nearby. One tasting per customer however I hear that if you compliment their sake you might be able to squeeze a refill out of them!

Click the image below for more information...

Travel Log: Fox Wedding in Numazu

Last weekend, I had the pleasure of attending and participating in a fox-themed wedding in Numazu. The wedding was being held at the fox shrine by the Kano River. Volunteers were asked to come along and have their faces painted like foxes then participate in a "fox parade." The bride and groom also had their faces painted like foxes. This was a real ligit wedding; a rare experience for foreigners like me to attend. This is largely because (if a foreigner is lucky enough to be invited) wedding guests in Japan are expected to pay the new couple between $100 to $300 as a kind of start-up money instead of giving them a traditional gift. This means attending a wedding tends to be limited to immediate family in Japan because it is just so damn expensive for us underpaid English teachers. But anyway, I was lucky enough to snag an almost front row seat so I could capture some amazing photos of the fox wedding for your enjoyment. Continue reading for some of my favourite snaps below!

Travel Log: Roaming in Southeast Asia (Part 2)

Bright-eyed, bushy-tailed; 5am found us stuffed into a mini-van for a 15 minute ride in the pitch black to the famous temples of Angkor Wat. The early hour was necessary for us to watch the sunrise over the main temple. First, we stopped off at a tourist information centre to obtain our temple passes. Passes procured (part of which required peering blearily into the camera for a passport-style photo on the pass) we headed off to Angkor Wat.

To my surprise, no jungle trekking was necessary to hit out first location for the day. The filming location for the Tomb Raider movie was actually accessible by paved main road, a short ride from central Siem Reap. Crossing the large moat on a stone bridge layed unevenly in the pitch black was trecherous enough, then there was the tourists to deal with! Hundreds of them vied for the best position around a small pond to snap the sun as it rose over the monolithic temple, casting a reflection in the water as it did so. My Australian friend and I decided to avoid the crowds and chose an elevated position on the steps of one of the temple's outer buildings (which we later found out was originally the library) to watch our sunrise. Peaceful, the colours absolutely stunning, my camera does not do it justice...

Travel Log: Nara

As you can see, I've been hitting the road a lot lately! In just the past month or so, I been to Tokyo on a few different occasions (Harajuku, DisneySea, Hiratsuka), Shimoda, Osaka and now Nara. And it only gets worse; in a couple of weeks, I'm heading over to to Thailand to begin a 2 week road trip across Cambodia and Vietnam. I've got to learn to say 'no.' 

Anyway, I had never been to Nara before and despite sweltering temperatures it was a really amazing place. Check out some snaps below...

T.G.I.F.: Kumata Shrine Summer Festival

Osaka... the home of great food and great people. The weekend, Osaka is home to another interesting summer festival; the Kumata Shrine Summer Festival. This festival is the largest float festival in Osaka city and announces the coming of mid-summer. Of particular note is the parade of mikoshi (portable shrines) held on the 14th. Check it out! Click on the image below for more information...

T.G.I.F.: Nagoshi no Harae, Kyoto

Tomorrow various shrines around Kyoto will be participating in the Nagoshi no Harae ceremony, a Summer purification ritual in which visitors are invited to pass through a large ring woven of miscanthus reed to cast off defilement (kegare). Participating shrines in Kyoto include Kitano Tenmangu, Kamigamo Shrine, Fujinomori Shrine, Heian Shrine, Nonomiya Shrine, Fushimi Inari Shrine, Yoshida Shrine, Kuramazaki Shrine and more.

Click the image below for more details...

T.G.I.F.: Hokkaido Shrine Matsuri

It's that time of year when a lot of the major shrines around Japan are orchestrating parades around town with elaborate and traditional Japanese "floats." Designed to represent individual neighbourhoods surrounding the shrine, these floats embark on a parade which usually includes a long walking course and ends back at the shrine. Sometimes there are 4 or more floats taking part in the traditional parade, challenging one and other (with chanting and dancing) for supremacy. 

This weekend, the Hokkaido Shrine Matsuri (and its traditional floats) takes place in Sapporo. Being one of the largest festivals of its kind in Japan, this event promises not to disappoint. Click the image below for more information...

Travel Log: Hakone, Kanagawa Prefecture

Last weekend, I went to Hakone in Kanagawa Prefecture which is located surprisingly close to the Izu Peninsula. Hakone is a popular day-trip destination for Tokyo-ites being so close to the capitol as it is. If you are interested in some amazing views of Mt. Fuji, I definitely recommend a trip to Hakone. Check out the comprehensive Japan-Guide.com page for more information about traveling in Hakone. Enjoy some snaps below...