Comănești, RomaniaJapanese Tourists Fly 9,000 Kilometres to Watch Men in Bearskins Dance in a Romanian Coal Town
Every December 30 in Comănești, Romania, hundreds of men wearing real bearskins weighing up to 50 kilograms perform Jocul Ursului — a pre-Christian ritual tracing to a bear-god named Zalmoxis. Japanese tourists fly 9,000 km for it. UNESCO has been considering it since 2011. The villages keeping it alive are emptying.