The Samurai Marathon

The church I attend here in Japan starts at 2pm on Sunday afternoons.  This makes Sunday mornings the perfect time for hiking.  So, this morning, I went to one of my usual quiet hiking spots, where I rarely see another person on the trail, but was taken by surprise when I saw what I saw....

Apparently it's called the Samurai Marathon.  Over 500 participants this year dressed up as... more than samurai as you can see.  I watched the first person cross the finish line, then started hiking down the trail they were running up.  Definitely the most interesting hike I've ever been on.  Most are walking and exhausted by the time I saw them... I only hiked the last 3 of the 42km these guys trekked in full costume.  I think I saw most of the 500 runners during the 3 hours I was on the trail.