Weird & Wonderful
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Displaying 1 to 12 of 12 results.
During the annual New Year Oga Namahage Festival, deities resembling demons go round visiting houses bringing good luck. They're also known for shouting out to children who are crying or…
Start the new year by casting away the past year's evil energy and making blessings of longevity at Kyoto's Okera-Mairi Festival. Held at the Yasaka-jinja Shrine, a ritual with Okera, the…
The ritual Wakakusa Yamayaki burning of the grass on Wakakusa Hill, Nara, during which the whole 342-metre hill is set ablaze, is surely one of the most stunning sights of Japan's festival year.
During Hadaka Matsuri bare-bottomed men ensure their good luck by crowding the streets of Inazawa City in the hope of touching a naked man! Since 767 BC the Naked Man, aka Shin-otokoa, has…
Giant floats carried by teams of scantily-clad men race through the streets of Fukuoka City at the Hakata Gion Yamakasa Festival. Each float is elaborately decorated to represent elements of…
An ancient ritual with bamboo poles and illuminated paper lanterns is at the heart of Akita's Kanto Matsuri festival. Every year people pray for an abundant harvest of the five grains - wheat…
Yamaga Lantern Festival, at Omiya-Shrine, is known as the 'festival held throughout the night'. Yamaga town is decorated with lanterns in the shapes of castles and shrines. Don't miss the…
Locals of Yatsuo-machi in Toyama take time out from work to don traditional costume and celebrate the Owara Kaze-no-Bon Festival. Their singing, dancing and lantern-lighting are thought to…
Come and see the unique sphere-shaped marimo algae at Akanko Onsen's Marimo Matsuri. This spherical algae festival explores the special natural algae which takes 100 years to grow its diameter…
Can wood cry tears? Well, you wouldn't think so, unless you visit the convent in the tiny Japanese village of Akita. It is here that the Weeping Wooden Virgin statue, crafted from a Katsura…
The Meguro Parasitological Museum in Tokyo is the only fully fledged one in the world. Within the seven-storey nondescript building there are 45,000 specimens of obscene, flesh-munching…
Tokyo's funkiest district, Harajaku, comes alive with street performers every Sunday. Only in Japan could this "spontaneous" street display of counter-culture fashion, wild hair and loud rock…
