Japan is full of interesting and wonderful traditions. A sentiment embodied in an event I attended recently- a laughing festival. Every year, a select group gather in the town of Hofu to drink sake and laugh- a prelude to good luck in the coming year. It’s organised laughing; serious laughing with rules, rituals, judges and a bevy of interested TV cameras. On arrival, I had no idea what to expect and was informed that for the first part of the ceremony the participants would eat a traditional Japanese meal and drink sake, to loosen them for the laughing ahead. The meal lasted about an hour, a lot of the drinkers looking red and swaying towards to end. I managed to bustle my way to the front of a crowd of photographers to take a few shots.

Then it was time for the laughing… which will be tomorrows blog post…