On a spring evening in Japan, we had just returned from a stunning day of hiking amid volcanic landscapes on Kyushu Island. After a soul-satisfying meal of koya dofu, seasonal veggies and udon noodles, I was ready to call it a day.

On a spring evening in Japan, we had just returned from a stunning day of hiking amid volcanic landscapes on Kyushu Island. After a soul-satisfying meal of koya dofu, seasonal veggies and udon noodles, I was ready to call it a day.

But when my partner and I arrived at our family-run guesthouse, our Japanese hostess had been waiting for us – to invite us to join her and a few other guests to celebrate a local festival at the Shinto shrine nearby! So we piled into her car, no idea where we were headed.

In the orderliness of Japan, where people queue neatly even to board a packed bus, I was surprised by the chaotic energy of the festival. Shinto priests swayed haystacks lit on fire, cheered on by onlookers. Then the ‘goddess’ arrived in a palanquin, to be married inside the shrine. The hay swinging was passed on to the ordinary folk, and I too took my turn to light it on fire and swing it around my body, as adrenalin surged through me!
On a spring evening in Japan, we had just returned from a stunning day of hiking amid volcanic landscapes on Kyushu Island. After a soul-satisfying meal of koya dofu, seasonal veggies and udon noodles, I was ready to call it a day.

But when my partner and I arrived at our family-run guesthouse, our Japanese hostess had been waiting for us – to invite us to join her and a few other guests to celebrate a local festival at the Shinto shrine nearby! So we piled into her car, no idea where we were headed.

In the orderliness of Japan, where people queue neatly even to board a packed bus, I was surprised by the chaotic energy of the festival. Shinto priests swayed haystacks lit on fire, cheered on by onlookers. Then the ‘goddess’ arrived in a palanquin, to be married inside the shrine. The hay swinging was passed on to the ordinary folk, and I too took my turn to light it on fire and swing it around my body, as adrenalin surged through me!