Japan: Ijika's Unusual New Year's Celebration

After a traditional New Year’s trick-or-treat, they creep silently down to the ocean, disrobe, and slip into the frigid January waters.

It’s New Year’s Eve and a strange sound is reverberating off the fishing village of Ijika, on the backside of Japan. “Yashoi! Yashoi!” The village men are winding their way up the steep hillside, visiting each and every house – 283 in all – to perform their village chant. It’s a kind of a New Year’s trick or treat.

But that’s just the beginning of Ijika’s unusual New Year’s celebration. Everyone heads home for a New Year’s feast, then slowly gather at midnight on the icy beach, to plunge naked into the ocean. It’s an ancient Shinto ritual – they’re purifying themselves for the new year.

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Category: Travel