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Travel advice for Japan
From travel safety to visa requirements, discover the best tips for traveling to Japan
written by Sophie Hutchings
updated 9.07.2019
Have you ever wanted luck and happiness for an entire year? All you have to do is slip on a fundoshi (a traditional Japanese loincloth), get purified with freezing cold water in the middle of February and join 9000 other Japanese men – with their 18,000 bare cheeks – in fighting over one of two lucky shingi sticks. Piece of cake, right?
On the third Saturday of February each year, in the Japanese city of Saidaiji-naka in Okayama, over nine thousand men, not including spectators, travel to the Saidai-ji Temple for one of Japan’s most eccentric festivals: the ‘Naked Festival’ known as Hadaka Matsuri.
Hadaka Matsuri dates back over five hundred years, when worshippers began competing to receive paper tokens from Shinto priests known as “go-o”, which supposedly gave a whole year of happiness to those lucky enough to win.
Today, competitors are first purified with cold water, then at midnight the lights to the temple are switched off and the priest throws the lucky charms – two 20cm-long sticks – into the crowd from a window above. To win, competitors must catch the stick and thrust it into a box filled with rice – only then, will they receive their blessing of year-long happiness.
This video shows two British tourists tackle this rather chaotic, and in some parts terrifying, celebration:
13 days / from3535 USD
Small Group Tour: Splendours of Japan
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Small Group Tour: Highlights of Japan
Exciting small-group tour with monthly departures. Immerse in Japanese culture, challenge a pro in a sumo suit, wander Arashiyama's bamboo groves in Kyoto, and relish a kaiseki feast with Maiko entertainment - all included in this fascinating small group tour.
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Japan highlights: Tokyo to Osaka
From Tokyo to Osaka, this Japan trip features fantastic experiences. View a sumo session, visit ancient temples, and climb the Tokyo Skytree tower. Explore the resort town of Hakone in Mt Fuji’s shadow, savor a tea ceremony in Kyoto, and see cherry blossoms, in season, to complete a wonderful trip.
customize ⤍10 days / from3000 USD
Self-Guided Adventure Tour in Japan
Immerse yourself in the breathtaking natural beauty, history, enchanting culture and warmhearted people of Japan, with our self-guided tour of Japan. Walk-through a bamboo forest, see how sake is made, join Samurai lesson, go bar-hopping in Tokyo and Osaka and extend your journey to Hiroshima
customize ⤍10 days / from6000 USD
Culinary tour across Japan
This trip takes you from Tokyo to Kyoto, where you will experience authentic Japanese foods, visit morning markets in the local cities, learn how to make Japanese food and enjoy a unique stay at a monastery. A once in a lifetime experience.
customize ⤍Top image © mTaira/Shutterstock
written by Sophie Hutchings
updated 9.07.2019
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