Fuji festival fever in Japan

For many festival-goers, June means just one thing: a trip to Somerset, and more specifically, the hallowed, muddy fields of Glastonbury.

However, this year such people find themselves with a gaping, Field of Lost Vagueness-shaped hole in their diaries, as Glastonbury's founder Michael Eavis decided to give the festival a breather.

Music fans in Britain are not by any means poorly-catered for with festivals, with Reading, Leeds, the V Festivals and the Big Chill, but it is worth casting one's eye further afield for a completely different festival experience.

Take, for example, the Fuji Rock Festival in Japan, which is relatively young in the scheme of festival heritage, but is immensely popular and gets some of the biggest acts in the world.

Not only can the 100,000 or so revellers enjoy the sounds of the likes of the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, New Order and the Foo Fighters, they can bask under the staggering landscapes surrounding them.

Based in Naeba in Niigata, the festival site is surrounded by forested mountains, creating a spectacular backdrop to the hedonistic shenanigans down below.

Cable cars are available to take you some way up the mountain, and the sight of tens of thousands of people from above is quite something.

There are plenty of camping facilities, or for those who would rather party and be pampered, there is a hotel just outside the site.

Tickets for the three-day festival cost £192, but Inside Japan Tours is offering UK travellers package deals that give them four nights' accommodation in a Tokyo hotel, transfers to the festival and access to the Fuji Rock extravaganza. The package is available from £650 per person based on two sharing.

This year's festival, which includes performances from Franz Ferdinand, Gnarls Barkley, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah! and Dirty Pretty Things, takes place between July 28th and 30th.

For more information about See Japan and the Fuji Rock Festival, visit www.insidejapantours.com and www.smash-uk.com respectively. XXX