When

3rd March

Where

Bishamondo Temple, Urasa, Minamiuonuma, Niigata

Daytime Events

Children’s parade, sacred rice cake distribution

6pm -11 p.m

Temple jostling, sacred lantern and rice cake throwing inside the temple

How To Get There

Train from Echigo-Yuzawa getting off at Urasa station

Shinkansen –  JR Joetsu Line 11 mins cost approx 2,260 yen one way or use JR Rail pass 

Local Train –  JR Joetsu Line 32 minutes heading towards Nagaoka costs approx 500 yen one way or use JR pass

About

Known as one of the top 3 most bizarre festivals dating back hundreds of years, Urasa Naked Man Festival is a festival that must be seen to be believed!!

Giant 30kg candles dripping hot wax being carried by men in white loin cloths, wearing socks and straw sandals on their feet, cold sacred water, chanting, pushing and shoving……what isn’t there to enjoy about this high energy festival.

How It All Started

The festival celebrates men’s vitality and courage. It is believed that participating in such celebrations will bring bountiful harvest for the region, local and individual prosperity, and of course fertility.   Women are restricted from taking part in this festival and can only be spectators.  

The whole festival takes place in the grounds of the temple of Bishamondo located a few blocks away from the city’s JR station of Urasa.

Participating men wear a traditional Japanese undergarment called a “fundoshi” (a type of loincloth), as well as traditional straw sandals to protect their feet from the freezing snow. This region is known for its heavy snow (minimum 3 meters of snow) and sub-zero winters. So, how do the men bear such harsh winter conditions with just a loincloth and straw sandals? The answer is simple: sake, LOTS of sake. The men are highly encouraged to drink copious amounts before the actual event.

The men then make their way to take a dip in an icey cold sacred pond then run into the timber temple where the fun begins.  Chanting, wrestling, jostling and throwing of mochi (Japanese rice cakes) by the “gate guardians”.  The chanting is very infectious and rhythmic and as a spectator brace yourself for a bit of your own jostling.

Apart from seeing drunk half dressed men in rope sandals, pushing and shoving, chanting and mochi throwing inside the temples, outside lining the road from Urasa Station you will find festival street food.