Children's Day🎏

Did you know that there will soon be a major holiday in Japan? The Japanese call the holidays 'Golden Week'.🤩

Golden Week is a series of public holidays in Japan, usually from the end of April to the beginning of May.

It's a popular time for people to travel or spend time with family and friends.

This holiday is created by the combination of four public holidays and a weekend, one of which, Children's Day, is introduced today.👦👧

Children's Day, which falls on 5th May, is part of Golden Week.

On this day, families celebrate the happiness and health of children. One traditional custom is to fly KOINOBORI, colorful carp-shaped streamers, outside homes to represent each member of the family.🎏

Koinobori have been considered as a symbol of power and toughness since the Edo period (1603-1868) when the custom originally started.

Carps are a symbol of strength, courage and success in the Japanese culture because of their ability to swim upstream.💪💫

I still remember my father putting up Koinobori every year when I was a child.

Generally, a koinobori placed in a household would be around 1 or 2 metres in size, but at that time my father had a koinobori over 10 metres long, with three red, black and blue carp streamers.

Looking back, I think he was quite enthusiastic about it.

We had put it up by ourselves in the garden of the company house where my father worked, and I wonder if it was really safe.😂

If anyone is going to Japan at this time of year, see if there are any Koinobori. The sight of them strongly floating in the air might give you some courage too!🫰

Koinobori can be seen not only in ordinary homes, but also at various tourist attractions. At Tokyo Tower, a whopping 333 koinobori are flown in honour of the tower's height of 333 metres!

This year it will be hoisted all day until 6 May.🗓️

Since 2011, the tower has been displaying the 'Sanma Noboribori' from Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, which has a friendly relationship with Tokyo Tower, to send a yearly cheer for the recovery from the Great East Japan Earthquake.

Please look out for the "Sanma Nobori", a single fish that has been blended in, on site.🐟🤭

Aki