'Hot Water Splashing Festival' held in Beppu resort

'Hot Water Splashing Festival' held in Beppu resort

OITA, Japan - People carry sake barrels while hot water is thrown from the roadside during the "Yukake Matsuri" (Hot Water Splashing Festival) in the Beppu hot spring resort in Oita Prefecture on April 6, 2014.

Yukake Festival takes place in Kawarayu Hot Springs

Yukake Festival takes place in Kawarayu Hot Springs

NAGANOHARA, Japan - Men wearing traditional Japanese loincloths splash each other with warm water at the Kawarayu hot spring district in Naganohara, Gunma Prefecture, on Jan. 20, 2010, during the annual Yukake Festival. Some 60 men took part in the ritual as they prayed for the prosperity of the region. The resort district had been scheduled to be submerged due to the construction of a dam, known as the Yamba Dam, until the Democratic Party of Japan decided to abort the project.

Men splash hot spring water at traditional Japanese festival

Men splash hot spring water at traditional Japanese festival

Men in red or white loincloths splash hot spring water at one another during a traditional "Yukake" festival at the Kawarayu hot spring resort in Naganohara, Gunma Prefecture, eastern Japan, on Jan 20, 2015. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Yukake Festival takes place in Kawarayu Hot Springs

Yukake Festival takes place in Kawarayu Hot Springs

NAGANOHARA, Japan - Men wearing traditional Japanese loincloths splash each other with warm water at the Kawarayu hot spring district in Naganohara, Gunma Prefecture, on Jan. 20, 2010, during the annual Yukake Festival. Some 60 men took part in the ritual as they prayed for the prosperity of the region. The resort district had been scheduled to be submerged due to the construction of a dam, known as the Yamba Dam, until the Democratic Party of Japan decided to abort the project. (Kyodo)