For six days only, during the larger Iwatsuki Dolls Festival, Atago Shrine has a beautiful display of Hina Dolls on the stairs that lead to the shrine. Atago Shrine Hina Staircase Display in 2023 In 2023, the remaining dates for the hina on the shrine’s staircase are tomorrow March 4thRead More →
Hanno Hina – Almost every city and town in Japan display Hina dolls for the dolls festival leading up to girls day, March 3rd, annually. But some towns or cities celebrate the dolls festival in a bigger way. In Saitama the four cities best known for their dolls festival hinaRead More →
February in Saitama, 2023. There are some exclusive events and seasonal traditions that you can enjoy in Japan in the month of February. Between 2020 and 2022 there was slightly less to do, as many of the special / seasonal events didn’t go ahead. But the situation is much betterRead More →
Information for the Floating dolls of Iwatsuki in 2023. One truly enchanting event to mark the annual Dolls festival is the floating dolls of Iwatsuki event. Paper dolls are floated on a pond in the doll town Iwatsuki to mark the Dolls Festival, which is also girls day. The dollsRead More →
Information for, and an account of, visiting Japan’s largest Dolls festival display at the Konosu Surprising Dolls Festival or Konosu Bikkuri Hina Matsuri in Japanese. 鴻巣びっくりひな祭り。 Japan’s largest dolls festival pyramid display “Konosu Doll Pyramid” in Konosu, Saitama Prefecture, is just a 50 minute train ride from Ueno station inRead More →
Information for the Tokorozawa Dolls Festival, officially known as Tokorozawa Hina Monogatari 野老澤雛物語, in 2023 The Tokorozawa Doll’s Festival Tokorozawa celebrates its doll production history with this “monogatari” festival. They describe Monogatari as a narrative tale. They are believed to have developed from the oral storytelling of fiction. That is,Read More →
Iwatsuki Dolls Festival – Iwatsuki is a very famous “Hina”, traditional Japanese doll, town often referred to as the “city of dolls”. Iwatsuki have been making dolls since the 17th century. Moreover, Iwatsuki Doll making was awarded the prestigious Traditional Craft Production designation by both the prefecture and the country.Read More →
Kakyu no Sato is a rose garden in the doll town of Konosu. Each year they have an Hina Dolls display, made extra special during the pandemic as even the dolls got with the mask wearing directive in Japan! I went out of my way to visit to add toRead More →
Information for the Spring flowers and tulip festival at the flower oasis “Hana no Oasis” in Konosu. Plus information for the Hina Dolls displays at Pansy House, one of the satellite sites of the Konosu Surprising Dolls Festival. Hana no Oasis, Konosu Hana no Oasis (or Flower Oasis) is aRead More →
Congratulations to Kawajima Town and the Toyama Memorial Museum for the designation of the old Toyama residence as an important cultural property of Japan. This is one that is close to my heart. As it was the very first place I visited after moving in to my new home inRead More →