Hundreds of people in Tokyo have been throwing tonnes of soybeans at one another, to celebrate the spring equinox.

The tradition, known as Mamemaki, is based on the belief that ogres, who hate soybeans, begin plotting evil and mischief on the eve of the spring equinox.

The event's 800 participants gathered inside the landmark Tokyo Tower, where they were given a pair of goggles and two kilograms of the beans, which they then threw at the imaginary demons.

"The beans actually hurt when they hit, but I'm fully excited and having a lot of fun," said one girl, while another told reporters: "I'm heated up. It's so much fun to throw something this hard, which rarely happens in my daily life."