Witches can put their brooms to good use at this Halloween event an hour outside downtown Tokyo.

Halloween is just around the corner, and so you’re probably going to be seeing a lot of people dressed as witches over the next few weeks. But while a lot of he witches you’ll encounter a parties and costume events will be carrying brooms, at one special place in Japan they’ll be flying on them.

Okay, so technically the witches will be ziplining, but still, they’ll be gliding zipping around above the trees of The Farm, an agriculturally themed camping resort in the town of Katori, Chiba Prefecture, about 70 minutes east of downtown Tokyo by train. The Farm is holding a special cosplay event this month, called The Farm Cosplay Sports Festival, which is part cosplay photo op, part performance competition, and part farmer’s market.

The most eye-catching part of the festivities is the Cosplay Zipline, a 180-meter (591-foot) zipline course that will be allowing participants to ride while wearing cosplay outfits. Masks and other hard face-coverings aren’t allowed, but you’re welcome to have props such as brooms, magic wands, swords, or laser rifles with you as make your trip down the line.

Judges will be awarding points based on uniqueness and entertainment value of the cosplay zipline sessions, and these scores will be pooled with participants’ scores from the Cosplay Harvesting Competition, in which participants are given a list of vegetables to grab from one of The Farm’s Fields, and graded on how quickly and accurately they can identify and bring back the specified produce.

And, of course, there’ll be time to snap pictures too, and as this pair, who quite clearly have based their look on Kiki and Tombo from Studio Ghibli anime Kiki’s Deliver Service, demonstrate, the scenery is very picturesque.

The grand prize winner will receive a free stay at The Farm, while runners up will get bags of rice or crates of vegetables grown at the facility. Everyone who takes part will also be able to take home the vegetables they pick during the Cosplay Harvesting Competition, so no one leaves empty-handed, and the vibe promises to be more “Let’s cosplay in a unique setting!” than “Only sign up if you’re confident that you’re a top-tier cosplayer.”

The first iteration of The Farm Cosplay Sports Festival took place on October 13, but there’s another coming up on October 19. Tickets are priced at 2,500 yen (US$16.90) and can be reserved online here.

Source, images: PR Times
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