Setsubun

Photos above - they're the milk to the cereal that is my words.

A very brief introduction for those who aren't familiar with it: "Setsubun" or the Bean Throwing Festival is a yearly event in Japan that takes place early in February to mark the beginning of spring. It's called that because it involves people throwing beans to ward off evil "oni" (ogres/demons, noone can seem to agree on a translation) and chanting "oni ha soto, fuku ha uchi" (demons out, good fortune in). I've heard some parents even dress up like oni so their kids can pelt them with beans but I'm not sure how common that is.

We missed it last time we were here so we were determined to get to it this time around. And get to it we did, with a little bit of help from Mr Annual Leave.