Frosty face-off: over 120 teams throw down in epic Japanese snowball tournament

FILE PHOTO: A man falls while throwing a snowball at the 35th Koide International Snowball Fight in Uonuma, Niigata Prefecture, Japan, February 9, 2025. REUTERS/Tom Bateman/File Photo

UONUMA, Japan (Reuters) - More than 120 teams battled it out in a snowball fight tournament in a mountainous Japanese city on Sunday, in what the local weather bureau called the coldest air this winter to sweep the country's northern snow belt.

The 35th annual Koide International Snowball Fight in Uonuma in Niigata Prefecture, roughly 180 km (112 miles) northwest of Tokyo, was the largest event of its kind in Japan, said 29-year-old head judge Takuya Kitsu.