This weekend I spurned the chance to go to an expensive French restaurant opening in Kyoto, and instead planned to spend Saturday night watching semi-naked men wrestle. All for the blog, of course. This weekend was the Hadaka Matsuri, or "Naked Man" Festival, Okayama-ken's most famous event. It is also one of the top 3 "weirdest festivals" in Japan (yes the Japanese actually list these kind of things). The rules of the contest are simple enough. Men in nappies run round in a big circle, splashing through a waist high "bath" of ice cold water, and having more ice cold water thrown over them. Then, three sticks are thrown into the maddened crowd. Cue mass brawling, and the eventual emergence of victorious champions, who gain both honour and cash prizes (who would have thought you could gain honour while wearing a nappie).
Anyway I planned to watch all this, but sadly my plans were derailed by a bout of unpleasant sickness brought on by consuming large amounts of shellfish. I thus missed the Festival, so you'll have to wait until this time next year for an eyewitness account (or check out Phil's blog once he's updated it).
Not to let the shellfish get the better of me, I'm going to an Oyster Festival next weekend- they may have won the battle, but I'll win the war!
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