Did you know that October 9 is Curious Events Day? Europesure protection in its single trip travel insurance form can often be the ideal solution when venturing abroad just for a specific event. That being so, we’ve tracked down three curious events for which you could make use of it.
The first is the Hokkaido Navel Festival – or Furano Belly Button Festival - on the island of Hokkaido in Japan. Hokkaido is the second largest and most northern island of Japan, with the Tsugaru Strait separating it from the main island of Honshu.
Reasons for the navel festival
The navel festival was founded in Furano on Hokkaido because this city marked the very centre of the island. That status is denoted by the Hokkaido Centre Mark, as it is commonly known.
Additionally, there is the Hokushin Shrine, known as the belly button shrine, which sits next to the Hahako-do, where Japanese children’s umbilical cords are protected.
The essence of the Hokkaido Navel Festival
Taking this concept further, the Hokkai Heso Matsuri (belly button festival) was first held in 1969, “to strengthen bonds through the navel”. It features local people who have decorated their bodies in a huge number of ways, depicting a variety of characters’ faces (Zubara), through paint, costume and props. All have one thing in common. The belly button is the mouth of the painted face.
A big feature of the festival is the belly dance (Heso Odori) that takes place throughout the streets, as these body-painted characters parade around. Around 4000 dancers can be viewed, across two days, creating one glorious, zany spectacle.
Other things to enjoy with the right Europesure protection
Other things to enjoy at this festival, usually held around July 28/29, is the belly button gourmet aspect. Here, food stalls – and eateries – celebrate links between food and the belly button. Chefs use their powers of invention to create dishes fitting that brief, much to the delight of locals and visitors alike. Add to this dance competitions, bands, musical performances, singing contest and community involvement and it can be something very different to take in on your travels.
If you plan to do that from your home in the UK or Europe, make sure you purchase Europesure protection option for worldwide travel. You can do that either through a single trip travel insurance policy or an annual travel insurance policy.
The Wife-carrying World Championships: Finland
You can catch this spectacle in Sonkajärvi in Finland, where wife-carrying became a sport way back in 1992. For the world championships, a 243.5m track full of obstacles has to be tackled by a competitor battling it out to win their wife’s weight in beer. Traversing these obstacles is not as easy as it may sound, as they have to do so whilst carrying said wife on their back.
This can be done piggy-back style, in a Fireman’s lift, or with the wife’s legs around her husband’s shoulders as she dangles upside down. This is known as Estonian style.
It's all a nod to a famous bandit chief of these Finnish parts. Herkko ‘Robber’ Ronkainan escaped a life of nagging by becoming a sort of Finnish Robin Hood, stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. He may not have been quite as noble as Robin, in other ways, taking it upon himself to have his men seize village women, at times. To do that, they had to pass a manhood test – carrying sacks of grain on their back whilst travelling across cliffs, hills, streams, fences, rocky terrain and lakes.
Wife carrying contest rules and prizes and the right Europesure protection
Rules of the wife-carrying contest are that the ‘wife’ need not be your own but must be aged over 17 and weigh at least 49kg. If not, it’s a bit like horse handicapping and extra weight must be applied. And no unfair advantages can be gained through footwear or straps!
Prizes are not just awarded for the fastest wife carrier, but also for the best costume and strongest carrier. And, there is a category for over-40s.
Strange it may be, but it’s certainly caught on, with various such events now on offer worldwide. It could be fun, if you want to visit an event that is very out of the ordinary and the world championships is definitely the number one! For this experience, you would need Europesure protection for European travel and trips. There is no need to pay the extra for worldwide travel, if you are just holidaying or visiting Europe.
Boryeong Mud Festival
Mud, mud, glorious mud. That’s the theme of this South Korean festival, devised to assist the local economy in a place that suffered unappealing muddy beaches and a lack of tourism appeal.
The festival was devised in the 1990s, to combat this, making mud cool and desirable, for its skin and health care benefits. Think clear skin, skin regeneration and circulation advantages and you will get to the core of this proposition.
The festival’s mascots, Muppy and Mutty, pay a huge part in this, entertaining folk who take to mud slides, mud baths and a mud run jumping, rolling and playing in mud to their heart’s content. Whether daubing their bodies in mud or relaxing with a mud massage, visitors to this festival, held between late July and early August, can escape the stresses of urban living and just mud-out.
Best Europesure protection for South Korean and Asian travel
If that sounds like your kind of thing, make sure to purchase Europesure protection in the form of a worldwide travel insurance policy. This will safeguard you against losses emanating from travel risks and medical bills arising from health issues that might emerge in South Korea.
Remember that single trip insurance cover is perfect for one-off travels within a year, which might take you to such an event. If you are a regular traveller, taking more than one holiday or trip in a calendar year, then Europesure’s annual travel insurance option is probably just the ticket for you.
Fancy visiting other Asian countries? Gain inspiration from our Europesure Travel Insurance Singapore and Hong Kong blogs!
