Hadaka Matsuri: The Naked, Testosterone Fueled Struggle for Luck

During the coldest time in Japan, the Sadaiji temple in Okayama hosts one of the most unique festivals not only in Japan, but all of the world, so of course I planned to attend. The Hadaka Matsuri is a violent, chaotic, testosterone fueled mess where thousands of men battle for just a handful of lucky charms tossed out by the temple monks at night in the bitter cold winter air. Oh, and everyone is practically naked too.

To give you a bit more background on this event, the Hadaka Matsuri started over 500 years ago, when small groups of worshipers competed to get talismans created by the monks during the new year. Since these talismans were believed to bring good luck, the crowds grew over the years.  Due to the increasingly competitive nature of the crowds, the talismans were changed to wooden sticks called shingi, and thrown into the crowd. At the same time people in the crowds began to wear less clothing, enabling them to better maneuver through the masses to grab the shingi. Eventually it transformed into the modern event of thousands of practically naked men battling for luck.



My day did not start quite so eventfully. Once I arrived in Okayama on February 20th, I went to a cafe where I met an old man who was excited to talk with me. It turns out he was formerly an employee at Okayama's library. He was at the cafe to meet up with a reading club, a group of other retirees who take turns reading a book aloud together. I am impressed with the intelectual and physical activeness of Japan's elderly population.  I have seen and spoken to many elder people at this point who belong to clubs that keep them engaged in activities they love.

After grabbing a delicious katsudon lunch at a chic restaurant with a cool wooden interior, I met up with a large group of ALTs from Okayama and a few other areas, including Caleb who I met in Hokkaido.  We hopped on a bus and headed across town to Sadaiji temple for the big event.

Those windows above is where the monks monitor the festival,
and eventually threw the shingi.

The venue was quite different from what I imagined. Sadaiji temple is an average local temple in Japan, residing next to small roads and local shops and apartments. It was hard to imagine 9000 participants and more spectators would soon flood this quiet suburb. The temple grounds had been retrofitted to accommodate the event, with temporary walls, bleachers, and scaffolding set up for spectators and TV crews.  Around the temple grounds temporary tents were set up, where participants bought their fundoshi and socks and got changed. Within these tents were assistants who wrapped the fundoshi for participants, giving wedgies which almost hoist them in the air to ensure a secure fit.  Within our tent an animated news personality chatted with us as we got changed, news crew and all.  Apart from our traditional underwear, we wrapped our socks with athletic tape to ensure they would stay on, since shoes aren't part of the attire and we would be trudging around a gravel filled complex for the next few hours.

Exiting our tent, we joined the masses marching into the temple grounds. There we lapped the complex three times, chanting "Wasshoi!" loudly the entire time. The entire procession huddled closely together, both for camaraderie as well as for warmth, especially since the route led us right around a fountain, which was of course spouting freezing cold water into a waist deep pool.  As we marched around the temple, everyone also rang a bell at a neighboring shrine, and proceeded under a small gate of ritualistic importance.

After these laps, the crowds dispersed and regrouped in their respective tents, prepping for the big event (and many probably drinking heavily). But soon enough we all found ourselves back at the temple grounds for the main event.

About an hour before the actual start time, we were allowed to enter the temple. Unlike many temples, this one had a large veranda, presumably constructed for the festival. It also had an upper balcony, where a monk who looked surprisingly akin to Johnny Depp stood with a ladle.  He threw water down on the crowd, who had crammed tightly onto the veranda in anticipation of the stick being thrown.

However, his actions served another purpose. Due to how tightly packed people were, some attendees would pass out, leading him and his assistants to throw a tether line to the incapacitated person, who would be shuffled out by the crowd. Upon success the crowd would cheer, and immediately fill that empty space with not one, but two more people. When I thought it couldn't get any tighter, they announced we had twenty minutes until the drop. I was crunched even more, pressed right into the center of the veranda, my arms in the air not of my own volition, but because they were resting on my neighbors shoulders. The mass of humanity ebbed and flowed as people continued to press in, give up, and struggle for an opportune spot. The crowd was truly unique, desperately physical and competitive, yet still considerate.

But that attitude quickly changed at 10pm, when the monks shut the lights and hurled the much desired shingi into the crowd. The instant bombardment of camera flashes cut through the darkness, and the crowd peered around in confusion. (Un)fortunately, none ended up in my proximity, leading me to join the rest of the crowd in a manic search for those who caught one.  Those who did ended up in a violent scrum, with people prying at them. A common strategy is to wedge the shingi down the fundoshi, which has resulted in people reaching down other people's underwear if they look remotely suspicious. Some particularly aggressive competitors wore black fundoshi, and many had tape covering their backs. These guys were yakuza, who needed to cover their tattoos in order to participate in the competition. Yet they played to the same rules as everyone else, with their stylistic choice probably being just an intimidation tactic.

The struggle continued for a fairly short while, with those unlucky enough to be near the steep stairs getting bucked down. My buddy Caleb got pretty banged up taking a tumble down them himself.

Yet soon after the crowd abated, and as the festival ended, the competitors began to clean up the venue, picking up lost socks, tape, and even unwrapped fundoshi.

Afterwards some of the ALTs went out to Karaoke, but Caleb and I were famished, and grabbed a well deserved pot of nabe before parting ways.


I headed to my hotel for the evening, which was unexpectedly another unique experience.  I booked a capsule hotel, an accommodation unique to Japan which were popular in the 70s and 80s.  The Capsule Hotel Hollywood was one of the most accommodating places I have been to, especially for the modest price of about $25 USD. The hotel is old, but the bath area was recently refurbished. When you enter a capsule hotel, there is a locker for all of your stuff. You are provided a robe, which you wear the entire time you are within the building, storing your clothes in the locker. The Japanese style bath had a massive sauna room, complete with TVs, and the other amenities were quite nice too, being provided with toiletries and even pumice stones for the bath. Upstairs was a lounge room, with comfortable recliners and reading materials for guests. And above that were the capsules themselves. The capsules themselves are plenty spacious and comfortable, with a tiny TV and radio built into the wall. These must have seemed like space age tech when it was first introduced. To top it all off, breakfast was included.



That next morning I had some time to kill before catching my train back to Tottori. I set off to check out on of Okayama's museums, where I ran into the retired librarian again. We cheerfully exchanged greetings, which was a great way to start the day.

I was joined by Tony, another attendee from the festival who teaches in China, and takes a month off every year and visits Japan for vacation. We went to the museum, only to find it closed. But no matter, for we went to Okayama castle, and this time I actually got to go inside.  Much like other castles, the interior had been turned into a museum, where historical information was presented about the castle. This is still one of my favorite castles, due to it's unique architecture (one floor has 5 sides instead of 4), and the entirely black facade.

Soon after that I caught my train back to Tottori. On the way I met some German girls on the train who were traveling Japan for three months during their gap year between high school and college. I was surprised to see them heading to such a rural area, but after three months in Japan I imagine they had already seen many of the bigger sights. I am still baffled at how the Europeans I have met can afford to travel the way they do. Even though I have been booking trips every weekend, I have my workweek to offset the costs, I cannot fathom how they spend three months hopping between hostels and tourist attractions without replenishing funds. I should ask one sometime how they manage it.  Honestly though, I am jealous of their leisurely, extended vacations.

Bikeboarding in Moiwa: The Great Northern Adventure Part VII

Having thoroughly explored the many resorts of Niseko United, I decided to spend my last day skiing the neighboring resort at the foot of my lodge, Moiwa.  Knowing that it was a smaller resort, I stopped back in the rental shop and swapped my skis for a bike board.  I was excited for the chance to ride on one again, since Keystone stopped renting and later banned them from their resort a few years ago.  I was rather impressed with my capabilities on the bike board, having only used it a handful of times in the US.  After a couple runs I not only had the confidence to maneuver down the steeper groomed runs, but the foolhardiness to take it into the backcountry. The different equipment provided a fresh challenge to the limited terrain. This is not to say the runs were bad. I actually spent most of my day in the backcountry out of Moiwa's Gate 6, powering through powder the whole day!

That evening I walked over to the swanky One Niseko Towers Hotel to try yet another onsen. There I met a couple cool guys. Tetsuya was one of the lift operators who had seen me skiing earlier that day, sported some crazy long hair.  Proving how small the world is, he had actually visited the US, riding a road bike throughout the country. He even ended up in Boulder at one point, and spent some time in the city. I also met a guy from Kyoto who spoke excellent English, abet with the heaviest New Zealand accent I had heard (and that includes the New Zealanders I have met on JET). He actually played rugby recreationally when he lived in New Zealand, so it was fun to reminisce on the days when we both played the sport.

After the onsen I headed to the top floor to treat myself to the braised pork special at the restaurant.  Afterwards back at the lodge I played pool with some of the other guests, including a rather spirited pool shark from Mongolia.




The next day I headed out to the airport, where I grabbed one more quick meal of soup curry before boarding my plane.

Once I arrived in Osaka, I went over to the bus station to catch my 3 hour bus back to Tottori. On my way I passed McDonald's, which was serving a limited time Hokkaido burger!  A bacon cheeseburger with mushrooms and Hokkaido potatoes, this was truly the fitting end to my northern adventure.


PS: again sorry for the poor quality of the video, I did not have the camera angled well yet again for the whole day. O well lessons learned.

Niseko - One Mountain, Four Resorts: The Great Northern Adventure Part VI

On Thursday February 11th, I woke up early and caught the early bus from my lodge to Niseko Annupuri, one of the 4 Niseko resorts. These 4 resorts all sit on different faces of one mountain, connected above timberline at the peak. It was a gorgeous day, so the upper lifts at the peak were open, making all 4 resorts accessible.

I started my day with Alex, a snowboarder I met in the lodge. After taking a warm-up run, we trekked to the top and hiked the peak. I hopped in fairly early, and he ended up trekking over 40 minutes to the true peak on the other side.  The view was stellar, since Niseko stands as one of the tallest mountains adjacent to a valley.

I’m glad I parted ways with him because I was able to find some great lines in the backcountry in this area still full of boot-deep fresh powder. The ‘backcountry’ in Niseko area is a general term for unpatrolled sections of the mountain that you access through gates, which the resort opens up depending on weather and avalanche conditions. The great part of this terrain is it almost all filters directly back to the resort bases.

After taking a few different runs through these backcountry areas of Annupuri, I traversed above timberline Niseko Village, the resort to the right. Here I found arguably the best terrain of the day, in the Avalanche control zone. This gully had some fantastic lines, fresh powder, and challenging steeps. I lapped the gondola multiple times to take this run, and thanks to what I imagine is the many warning signs and the pull rope you need to take to access the terrain, I barely saw any other skiiers the whole time there. Of course, the one other person I met on the run just happened to see me after took a tumble from shorting a jump.

After a while I was getting a little tired from working down such difficult terrain, so I again traversed the top to the far resort Hanazono. This area had some fun tree sections with a gentle gradient, and some great long cruisers. This resort felt a lot like Peak 7 at Breck, perfect for beginners and some fun stuff hidden away for more advanced skiers. Here I met back up with Caleb from Tiene, and we both ended up migrating to the big resort, Niseko Grand Hirafu.

I had avoided Hirafu earlier due to the warnings of big crowds, but I think the Japanese have an odd concept of what they consider crowded, because I barely waited in any lines the whole day. The only line I saw was Annupuri’s gondola line, which I easily bypassed by taking 2 chairlifts that run adjacent. Hirafu did not feel crowded at all, even though it was Chinese New Year.

We found some more great tree skiing that afternoon on the right side of the resort, before stopping in for yet another filling and satisfying meal with a great view. After eating we once again hist the slopes, as the Niseko resorts have night skiing! To my surprise Hirafu had some of the best night skiing I have experienced, since they illuminated not only the beginner routes, but also some advanced, mogul covered trails. We kept going until I needed to catch a bus to Annupuri.

A massive thermometer, it was getting
cold near the end of the day.

After riding the bus between the bases, I hopped onto a nearly empty resort for a few more casual cruisers to end the night, before I skied to the hard left to take a cat trail back to Moiwa and the lodge. Thankfully, Phil, one of my roommates at the lodge, lent me his headlamp that morning, so I was able to navigate this cat trail back in the dark. It was a rather thrilling experience to ski with just a small light guiding me, riding through the switchbacks of this wayback until, sure enough, I arrived right at the base of the resort, in walking distance of the Lodge at half-past 7.

That evening I grabbed a good dinner at the lodge, and then walked down to another onsen in the area. Niseko Grand Hotel's onsen was rather interesting, since it was co-ed. Oddly enough even though the women were provided dress like bathing suits, the men were provided nothing. The outdoor bath itself was massive, and felt great at the end of such a long day of skiing.





PS I apologize for the shaky camera and poorly filmed footage, unfortunately due to how nice the weather was, much of my favorite footage was actually blown out. This was the material I managed to salvage, and unfortunately for most of the day the camera was angled a bit low.

Travel to Niseko: The Great Northern Adventure Part V

This was a rather mellow day. I awoke to what I assume was more typical Hokkaido weather, a blizzard. Thankfully, unlike many of the other ALTs, I did not have to catch a flight. Instead I hopped on a bus into the mountains, set for Niseko.  Niseko is a small mountain town home to one of Japan's biggest ski resorts and a variety of onsen.


I had booked a hostel style lodge, which ended up being a very interesting place to stay. Located right at the foot of Moiwa, a small resort adjacent to the massive One Niseko resorts, this log cabin had a great vibe and an eclectic collection of guests.  Matt, guy I met briefly was from the Midwest and works in IT. The small world factor really hit home when he mentioned he had even applied to work with Lewan at one point. It also had some nice lounge areas, and a good restaurant at the top, which was especially appreciated due to the sparseness of eateries in the Moiwa area.

That night I accompanied few of the other lodge guests to one of the nearby onsen. This turned into a quintessential Japanese experience, since the onsen was open air, constructed out of rocks, and had the classic divider wooden wall. To top it all off it began to lightly snow as we relaxed in the waters.  I felt refreshed and ready to make the most of the next day.

Like my other onsen pictures, this one is from their website, obviously no cameras are allowed in a bath.

Madogatari and Otaru's Lantern Festival: The Great Northern Adventure Part IV

The next morning I awoke early to check out the Madogatari exhibition, a touring art exhibition from one of my favorite animation studios Shaft. The tour celebrated their 40th anniversary as a studio, prominently featuring two of their most successful franchises, Puella Magi Madoka Magica and, my personal favorite, the Monogatari series.

The exhibition was held for merely a week in Sapporo's Factory Hall, and my trip's timing had worked perfectly to allow me to see it. Entering the exhibit was an interesting experience. Even though I had bought a ticket, it had a specific time listed on it, from 10:30am-1pm. The ticket is only valid for that time slot, which became somewhat stressful for when I arrived over an hour early to a line wrapping around the whole building. Thankfully I made the cut, entering at 12:40pm. Similar to the Ghibli Exhibit I visited in Nagoya, the Madogatari exhibit mainly featured key frame art for their series (and photos were strictly forbidden, although I snagged a couple unfocused ones for you to better understand the experience). The Monogatari section had key frame sequences for many of the most notable events in the series, with iPads playing the completed clips for comparison. They covered a variety of moments from the series, from touching emotional moments to grand combat scenes. To my amusement, they even included the infamous toothbrush scene!

The Madoka section had a wall dedicated to the main character's transformation sequences, showing the rough concept art side by side with the completed animations. They also had the collages of the enemies, whose designs were integral to the unique art style of the series.

Further in were long hallways with complete key frame artwork sets featuring character running along the same path I walked.  In this section they also featured work from other shows they had produced over the years, and had some promotional material for upcoming series and movies as well.

At the end there was a merchandise shop, which featured unique paraphernalia exclusive to this particular exhibition, tangible rewards for true diehard fans.



Afterwards I went across the street to the Factory Mall. Both the exhibition hall and the mall were once industrial buildings producing beer for the Sapporo beer company. The vintage brick construction gave both the mall and hall a unique appearance, especially for Japan.



Then I met back up with Kristen to grab a late lunch. We went out for a meal unique to Hokkaido, soup curry. As the name suggests soup is prepared using spices and ingredients usually reserved for curry sauces, creating a hot soup in both the literal and figurative sense. It is a perfectly fitting meal to be created in the cold climate of Hokkaido.


After parting ways with Kristen I caught a train which ran adjacent to the ocean to the nearby coastal city of Otaru. This town has had a long history of western influence, and has become notable for music boxes and glasswork.

In a rather bustling intersection in town stood a few large buildings home to multiple floors of music boxes and glassware gifts. More shop than museum, the main building featured tiny music boxes and gifts to high end luxury music boxes. Yes there were music boxes that cost thousands of dollars for sale.  Within the shops though also stood vintage music boxes, which were surprisingly large. Built with a similar aesthetic to grandfather clocks or phonographs, these music boxes played music from large metal discs, similar in function to a record player.

From the intersection ran the main tourist road, lined with glassware shops. These shops featured practical glassware as well as purely ornamental creations. One particularly interesting store was Sora, which featured space style artwork by Mieko Noguchi.  Each piece contained a whole galaxy, trapped in glass.

Also of note, many of the buildings on this street stand as preserved historical landmarks, which old western style architecture is rather distinctive to witness in Japan.

The end of this road conveniently linked up to the Otaru Lantern Festival. Down a channel and through an abandoned railway track the town of Otaru had embedded thousands of lanterns into snowbanks.   The recent snowstorm had somewhat buried these elaborate displays, but many of the candles remained lit, and the overcast sky created a fitting ambiance for the walk. Much of the display was rather tranquil, with snowbanks with hollowed sections home to flickering candles. A favorite section of mine was a small labyrinth built out of snow, with lanterns of frozen ice and leaves propped up on sticks lighting the way.

As I wandered through I passed a local grilling potatoes, which was just the snack I needed to warm myself up. In the same area the crowd had become a bit noisier, since they had constructed a tubing hill in the middle of the railway walk. A particularly lively group of guys were running the hill, enthusiastically throwing the tubes up to the top in a coordinated assembly. I hoped on a tube for a quick ride down myself before moving on through the rest of the festival.

I finished my tour of Otaru and hopped on a quick train back to Sapporo, where I once again found myself in ramen alley to end the night.