A Wooden Penis Doesn't Shrink in Cold Weather

Fertility festivals take place on Feb. 12 each year across Japan. We went up to the Niigata area to witness one of the festivals. A large wooden penis is housed in its own shrine and taken out once a year for the festival. It's mounted to a wooden frame and women ride it around in the street. Riding the penis gives women good luck. Before the penis is ridden by the women, villagers stand in line for a chance to pray to it and stand next to it. The snow fell and the air was cold, but seeing smiling women riding a wooden penis warms the soul in a way that allows one to endure even the harshest weather.

left: People in line to pray to the town's wooden penis. Stone penis sculptures point toward the sky at the base of the roped tree.













left: Sake with dead fish floating around in the cup. I didn't try any, but it smelled delicious.












left: Before any villagers could ride the wooden wang, three women in kimonos did the deed and posed for pictures as a way of starting off the festivities.










left: Securing the cock, the man in the black hat guides it home with his hand.












left: Colleen riding a 7 foot penis













left: Col loving the ride



























left: Man in the crowd

Zenkoji Temple in Nagano City

left: Zenkoji Temple in Nagano City. This is the third largest wooden structure in Japan.











left: Lion sitting on top of incense pot in front of
the main temple













left: Beautiful lion

















left: Sculpture at Zenkoji

















left: This figure was stunning. It stopped me dead in my tracks when I saw it at Zenkoji.

















left: Porch of main temple































































left: Man in front of street entrance to Zenkoji

















left: East meets West for a milkshake and fries (click the picture for a better view).












left: These girls have just come from high school graduation (diplomas come in the form of scrolls--see the red boxes in their hands). The yukatas they are wearing are rented for the occaision. Some girls wear traditional kimonos to graduation and pay $1,000 or more to rent them for a single day. My school has asked girls to stop wearing kimonos, and instead girls are asked to wear simple black dress suits because of the expense. On graduation day, kimonos separate the Haves from the Have-Nots. The yukatas are a bit cheaper, but still expensiveto rent.

left: Pagoda at Zenkoji

Karaoke Professionals

My friend Dan came out to visit for a week. We tried to pack as much as we could into one short week. One marathon three hour karaoke session turned Dan, a karaoke-virgin, into a true believer.

left: Col

















left: Col, Alice, Jason, Mike













left: The visitor from the east, one of my best amigos, Dan












left: Without a tamborine, one must improvise