Unorthodox Japanese Parties We Kind of Want to Join

The Shukatsu Festa means something like “preparing for death,” and the celebration invites the elderly -and not so elderly- to try and see how their funerals would be. This is a way Japanese society found to accept the inevitability of death, but it can be seen as very bizarre by other cultures.

This is one of the many Japanese festivals that focus on evil spirits. Men covered in mud and foliage go around Miyakojima Island in Okinawa, covering everything with mud, from houses to cars and, of course, people, to give them good fortune in the coming year.

The Log-Riding Festival goes on for months and encompasses different celebrations. The main event has people cutting 16 specific trees previously selected, and another group attaching ropes to them. Some brave men ride the logs while they drag them down slopes and hills, to finally go to the river and different streets.

Japan celebrates many Fire Festivals all year round. The most popular is the Nozawa Onsen Fire Festival. While many other countries have festivals around fire and burning stuff, this one has people still clinging to the burning towering shrine, which sets it apart.

An ancient tradition in Japan says that children and young women shouldn't stay close to a fire for too long without working or studying, because creatures known as Oni would come and slice their skin with a knife. For this particular festival, men dress as these Oni or demons to scare kids into being good.

Known as the Crying Baby Festival, it's exactly what the name says. There's a belief that crying a lot as a baby makes you grow stronger, so Japanese people gather every year to make their babies cry to keep evil away.

During the Bean Throwing Festival that welcomes Spring in Japan, parents dress up as demons, and kids throw beans at them to keep them away.

The Strawbird Festival puts men in costumes made of straw in February, Japan's winter. They dance and drink, and make people laugh with their ridiculousness to wish for prosperity.

Japan has a lot of festivals around fertility, and they have no issues displaying graphic imagery to wish their men and women a future full of kids.

The Naked Festival is also celebrated during winter, and has thousands of men wearing almost nothing, gathering around a temple where a priest throws sacred sticks called shingi. Those who catch a shingi are blessed with a year of happiness.

Mud Festivals are another common occurrence in other parts of the world. In this case, the Japanese festival is a long procession of events that include bulls plowing a muddy paddy, bean planters following suit, a drum ceremony, and some people dressed as demons, because of course.

The Angry Tea Table Flipping Contest is exactly what you're thinking. Participants must shout in anger and flip a tea table as far as they can. There's a plastic fish placed on each table, and the one that sends the fish flying farther wins.

Furano celebrates the Belly Button Festival because they were looking to create a festival that brought the community together, and they realized Furano can be considered the belly button of the Hokkaido prefecture. This festival was born in 1969 and has its unique dance that you can learn before you go.

While Japanese people are known to be extremely polite, the Cursing Festival is a place where they go wild. It's said this festival was born from workers from 200 years ago who wanted to unwind after working hard all year.

Yes, some people train their Kajiki Spiders to fight at the annual festival. And then you wonder where Pokémon came from.