Getting dirty in Gifu comes with benefits for your skin and stomach.

There’s an outdoor volleyball tournament scheduled for this coming August in the town of Gujo. But while playing the sport under the summer sun might have you imagining beach volleyball, Gujo is in Gifu, one of Japan’s landlocked prefectures, so it has no beaches.

That doesn’t mean that the contest will take place on a hardwood or concrete playing surface, though, because this is a mud volleyball tournament.

This unique event is being held at the also unusually named Holy Fungus, a campground situated near the meeting point of the Kurisugawa and Takanasugawa rivers. The volleyball matches will be played in flooded rice paddies and fields, and if you’re thinking that sounds like a way to get your skin thoroughly covered in sludge, that’s exactly the point, because doing so will also have you covered in bacteria.

▼ Bacteria high-five!

But wait, this isn’t the harmful, disease-causing sort of bacteria. The soil here is rich in beneficial bacteria with skin-rejuvenating effects, so while you’re getting exercise while playing mud volleyball, you’re also getting a beauty treatment. It’s all in keeping with Holy Fungus’ focus on participative agricultural/organic wellness activities, and all participants in the tournament will receive a selection of organic cosmetics.

All players will also be served a bento boxed meal with locally grown produce for lunch on the day of the tournament, and members of the winning team will receive 20 kilograms (44 pounds) of rice grown in the surrounding Motai region of Gifu.

▼ With rice having become very expensive in Japan over the past year, this is a pretty sweet prize.

▼ A dip in the nearby river offers a way to wash off sweat and mud all at once.

The Mud Volleyball in Holy Fungus tournament will take place on August 8, and while simply watching the matches as a spectator is an option, it’s not too late to apply to compete. The organizers are looking for up to 10 teams, with four to seven members each, to take part, with a registration fee of 5,000 yen (US$32) per team plus 2,000 yen per participant. Participants can also take advantage of discounted campground rates at Holy Fungus on the night before the tournament and the night of the tournament itself.

▼ Holy Fungus

Applications can be made through the website of the event’s sponsor, Japanese organic cosmetics company Neo Natural, here, with a deadline of May 31.

Related: Holy Fungus
Source: @Press, Neo Natural
Images: @Press
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