Cold water, hot sake, pure Japanese
At Teppōzu Inari Jinja/Shrine in downtown Tokyo’s Chuo Ward the Shinto crazies* dressed in their fundoshi nappies spent the morning drinking hot sake for purifying their bodies and s0uls as they do at the start of every new year during the coldest days of winter.
The added blocks of ice in their children’s playpool looks like fun, doesn’t it?
Shinto worshipers pray in a pool chilled with ice to purify their bodies and souls during the New Year's ceremony at the Teppozu Irani Shrine in Tokyo.—USAT0DAY.com, PhotoGallery, 2013jan13
*It’s hypocritical for me to be saying “Shinto crazies”—Full disclosure: On New Years day I’ve done both the Kamakura Naked Matsuri/Festival (swim) and the Chicago Polar Bear club plunge through the ice.
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