Shan in Japan

Escaped from Tokyo on saturday to check out a full moon party in Minakami, Gunma. Just a few hours on the Kanetsu expressway and I was in the mountains of an emerging adventure capital in Japan. There are 11 outdoor companies here doing rafting, bungy jumping, canyoning and a host of other cool stuff. Partly the reason of coming out here was to say gday to some of these guys who support outdoorjapan.com, but the main reason was just to get out party!

Good mate Kazu picked me up on saturday arvo after a late start due to a slightly excessive friday night. Threw the tent and some munchies into the back of the car, cranked some sounds and hit the expressway. When we arrived, I met a fellow kiwi running one of the outdoor companies and also the main event organizer of the full moon party. Big lad with big dreads - got himself a very cool business set up. Got some inside info on where to set up camp and also very importantly, the onsen location. Soaked in the onsen and let the last dregs of friday night escape through the pores, then headed up into the misty hills to find the party location. Nestled in the valley alongside a river, there were two stages set up with all the techno, trippy paraphernalia you would expect at a full moon party. We befriended our neighboring campers and indulged on their fine umeboshi sour plums, which we cooled off with a Bombay Sapphire on the rocks. Around 10pm the big sounds started reverberating up the valley, which prompted us to put on our party faces and roll on down. Even at this early hour there was a good crowd converging. Good mix of foreigners and Japanese. Good dose of long and hairies - the new hippy culture. And no outdoor party goes without the firestarters swinging there poi pois. Everything was in fine balance. Just the right amount of people, not too crowded. Music was great - mix of reggae, lounge and latin down on the lower stage for the more mellower crew. The top stage was where the energy was, with progressive trance and breakbeats keeping people jumping around. I met lots of great people - no drugs, no aggro - this was much more sophisticated than my full moon party experience in Thailand. Speaking of full moon, the clouds were cloaking Mr. Moon, so didn't get the chance to bust out my werewolf tendancies. Fueled on redbull and various liquor I revelled until about 6ish in the morning. The last act kept going through to about 9am I think. I staggered up to find Kazu flaked out in the car and I crashed out in the tent, with the nights images and sounds ringing around my head. Up and outta there at 10am. Enjoyed soba noodles from Kakuya - famous local soba shop. Refreshed in the stream and bathed in the sun a bit to enjoy the much needed greenery of Minakami. Nice and content, Kazu and I were quiet and pensive on the drive back to Tokyo.
Must catch up on the sleep now;-)