Frosty face-off: Over 120 teams throw down in epic Japanese snowball tournament

I had a friend from college who was really into these tournaments and traveled all over the country to participate, it was a long time ago but I still half expected to see his name here, I bet people have a lot of fun.

Last Sunday?

So grotesque.

I'd definitely try to enter if I lived in that area.

In Japan, standardised snowball fighting, known as "Sports Yukigassen", has players across the country's heavy-snow areas and boasts an official body that has campaigned to take the sport to the Winter Olympics.

Do it! It's immense fun. I've done a few, it's a great experience. Unfortunately the better teams are usually very cautious baseball players and just wait for the other teams to make mistakes.

If I remember rightly, you have 90 pre-made snowballs per team, and they are rock hard, made with 'takoyaki'-esque presses. You win by seizing the other team's flag or eliminating all their players. If you drop a snowball on yourself, you are out. You can't re-use snowballs or make them in game. Agility and reflexes are crucial, as well as a good arm.

Very Japanese and very recommended.

Last Sunday

Indeed, Sunday the 9th.

So grotesque.

Not good clean, cold fun? Care to elucidate?

Yukigassen - a word I first learned when sitting in an outdoor hot spring one winter in Daisetsusan in 1989. I met a fellow and two women who were heading to the hot spring and they invited me to join them. We all sat in the rotenburo and grabbed snow from where it was gently about 50 cm deep about 10 cm from the spring, and made and gently lobbed snowballs at each other. If we were hit, we just brushed the remnants of the snowballs into the hot spring and kept on going. Hot spring yukigassen is the best way to enjoy lobbing snowballs. I wonder if Uonuma participants enjoy the Niigata hot springs after the matches.

Fun!!!

daito_hakFeb. 13 05:33 pm JST

So grotesque.

Never enjoyed some snow, huh?