We were lucky to be around when Hamanaka’s Festival was on. It’s a little town festival to wish for a good year during the seedling period, so small that it will never be on any tour group itinery. We helped out with making the mochi, which was later on tossed to the crowd for good luck. I was expecting a gentle toss, not the machine gun throw of several hundred mochi being thrown at once!
My highlight for the day was the children sumo, where the wrestling is presented to the god or kami as part of the wish for a good year. The children’s age range from 3 to around 12 or 13, and it was obvious who the ongoing champions were as the weaker wrestler’s face dropped once they realise who their opponent was.
mirgraphy 
that’s sweet be around for the Hamanaka’s Festival. Now i wonder did teh crowd get the mochi stick on their face? ^-^” I like mochi though.
neat to see children sumo. =)
All the mochi was bagged into plastic bags, so it doesn’t stick, but as they were made the day before it bloody well hurts when thrown!
ekkk~~~ poor people who got hit with that bag of mochi ^-^” hahaha….