Held once every seven years in the Year of the Tiger and Year of the Monkey (2004 was the latest) this amazing and sometimes dangerous festival takes place over the course of a month in April and May. The first part of the festival 'Yamadashi' held in early April sees the giant fir trees, weighing over 10 tons, pulled from the forest and hauled with straw ropes across freezing rivers to the town. In the second part of the festival 'Satobiki' the trees are paraded through Suwa to the local shrines: Kami-sha and Shimo-sha (upper & lower shrines). During 'Yamadashi', local men clad in happi-coats and tanked with sake ride the huge logs 'onbashira' down the steep slopes in Shimosuwa. Over the years there have been a number of deaths and the log riding is strictly reserved for locals only. The next festival will take place in Heisei 22, or 2010.
11 Comments
djsunkidsays...*requeue
swampgirlsays...see choggie? *requeue
choggiesays...*requeue
siftbotsays...Re-queueing this video for one more try; last queued Saturday, October 20th, 2007 12:11pm PDT - requeue requested by submitter choggie.
blankfistsays...Downvote Choggie's Videos Day!
choggiesays...thought so.....
djsunkidsays...Blankfist, you jerk! This is an awesome vid that is unfortunately a hard sell! Ya gotta wait until something gets out the queue before you do that shit. Boo-urns!
blankfistsays...It appears all of my efforts were for not, Choggie. My Downvote Choggie's Videos Day was a bust. I guess you can't keep a good sift down.
legacy0100says...One would argue that soap box derbies are a modified version of a log ride on wheels
antsays...Isn't this *sport too?
siftbotsays...Chasing Cheese Down A Hill Is Dangerous has been added as a related post - related requested by newtboy on that post.
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