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Japan hosts a wild, boozy ceremony when you turn 20 - take a look inside

Tom MurrayJan 17, 2017, 19:44 IST

A Japanese woman wearing a kimono makes a V sign while she checks her make-up during the Coming of Age Day celebration ceremony at an amusement park in Tokyo, Japan January 9, 2017.REUTERS / Kim Kyung-Hoon

LONDON - Every year, on the second Monday of January, something strange happens in Japan.

Young Japanese men and women don colourful kimonos and hakama to take part in "Seijin no Hi," or "Coming of Age Day," celebrations.

The event is a rite of passage for newly-classed adults that have turned 20 in the last year. In Japan, 20 is the legal age for drinking, smoking and voting.

The get-ups are fabulous - reminiscent of Royal Ascot atire in Britain, including the iconically voluminous women's hats.

With attendants drinking legally for the first time, Coming of Age Day is normally a pretty raucous affair - police scuffled with revellers in Okinawa this year.

Scroll down for a rare look into one of Japan's most garish festivals.