Feb. 11
Daito Ohara Mizu-kake Matsuri, Water Pouring Festival at Ohara Hachiman Shrine, Daito-machi, Ichinoseki, Iwate Prefecture. This festival has a 350-year history. Local people dedicate a giant shimenawa (sacred straw festoon) to the shrine from 10:10 a.m. to noon. About 300 half-naked men purified in a ritual at the shrine at 2:30, rush into the streets of the town as townspeople dash cold water over them (from 3 p.m. to around 3:50 p.m.).
Access: The JR Tohoku Shinkansen Line to Ichinoseki Station and then take the JR Ofunato Line to Surisawa Station From there, 20 minutes. by bus bound for Kami-Ohara or Daito Bus Center, and then get off at Shimomachi or Daito Bus Center Bus Stop.
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