The Japanese live (almost) the longest
Second only to Hong Kong, the life expectancy in Japan is 84, which is 3 years higher than in the United Kingdom.
In Japan there is 1 vending machine for every 24 people
With 5 million vending machines- Japan has the highest density in the world. Batteries, ramen, sake, umbrellas. flowers- you name it and the vending machines probably stock it.
Japanese cuisine has a meat dish made of horse
Basashi is a popular regional Japanese dish, consisting of raw horsemeat slices with ginger and onions.
About 1500 earthquakes strike Japan every year
The frequency of the earthquakes is caused by the location of the country across three tectonic plates called the “Pacific Ring of Fire”.
Japan has a festival dedicated to the phallus
This Shinto festival is known as Kanamara Matsuri (かなまら祭り), which literally translates to the Festival of the Steel Phallus. The festival is celebrated in the city of Kawasaki on the first Sunday in April.
The phallus is the star of the festival, and everything is phallic-shaped in its honour. This includes candy, carved vegetables, and decorations. The highlight is the mikoshi parade, which sees large decorated phalluses paraded in a float shaped like a shrine.
The origin of the festival comes from an old Shinto fable. Legend has it that a demon once hid in the private parts of a goddess and bit off two of her suitors’ penises on their wedding night. A blacksmith then created an iron phallus, which broke the demon’s teeth and caused it to flee.
The shrine is a haven for prostitutes and people suffering from sexually-transmitted diseases to seek prayer and protection. People also pray for fertility, marriage, and businesses.
Today, the festival is an LGBTQ-friendly event as it also promotes inclusiveness. The money raised from the festival is then donated to HIV research.
Sumos compete to make babies cry first
Every April, the 400-year-old Naki Sumo Baby Crying Festival takes place in Sensoji Temple. Parents bring their children to the festival in the hopes of ensuring good health, and sumos will carry them onstage and try to make them cry. Some of them pull a scary face or yell at the babies to try and get them to wail. If all else fails, a scary mask is used to get them going.
While it may be weird to voluntarily make your child cry, it is believed that by getting babies to bawl, they can chase off any demons who are lurking nearby.
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