this is an image of the festival shortly after WWII that i thought was pretty cool. so, all said and done, i came, i drank, i got naked, i screamed with friends and thousands of japanese men, i feared for my life, i got elbowed in the head and fell off the temple stairs (which were made of stone), i was able to grab the top of one of the shingi sticks for 2 seconds before getting punched in the chest and thrust out of the mob, and this all preceded an all-night JET party at god-knows where...whew. a good time? i don't know. a good experience? definately. just a dream? quite possibly...