HANKYU NEWSLETTER VOL.174

1:NEXT ONLINE WORKSHOP

Thank you very much for your kind attendance to "On-line Seminar of Kanagawa Premium Collection" held on Feb. 17. We hope that you could have more ideas of Kanagawa Pref., a base of Yokohama, Kamakura, & Hakone. We are looking forward to more and more travelers to there from your company. Please kindly refer to the following information of our next on-line workshop.

YAMAGATA NIGHT & EARLY TIME ECONOMY

As informed by our previous e-mail magazines, a next on-line workshop will be featured in Yamagata City. This area is supposed to be another option for you, especially for someone looking for a new destination. You might already know that major cities, such as Tokyo, Kyoto, & so on, have been suffering by over-tourism. Especially in peak seasons of cherry blossoms at the end of March through the beginning of April and fall season in Oct., everywhere is crowded and everything is much more expensive. Also, during summertime in such cities, it might be a bit comfortable by its high temperature and extremely high humidity. Yamagata could be recommended as one of the areas where you could avoid such difficulties. For examples, cherry blossoms' season in Yamagata City is usually at the mid of April. It means that tour participants could enjoy cherry blossoms in Yamagata Area even during their stay in Japan 1 or 2 weeks later than the popular peak season. Average temperature in August in Yamagata is lower than Tokyo. It should be more comfortable even traveling in summer season. Through this seminar, we hope that you could learn more about Yamagata as a new destination.

On-line workshop for Yamagata will be held;

• at 18:00 Japan Time / GMT 9
• on Mar. 17 (Wed.)

Please kindly spare your time. An access to the workshop will be sent to you by next our e-mail magazines or e-mail from your person in charge.

2:ARCHIVE OF OUR WORKSHOP OF "ASO"

As you remember, our on-line workshop "Adventure Travel - ASO - Stories of the Great Caldera", which is featuring "Aso", a region in Kyushu Island, was held on Dec. 21, 2020. Thank you very much for your kind attendance. We believe that you could learn more about the region itself as well as many of its attractions, such as activities, foods, accommodations' facilities, onsen (= hot spring spa), and so on. Just in case, somebody who would like to remember it or somebody missed the big opportunity to watch, we are now sending the following URL as an archive. Please enjoy the video!! We hope that you could send a lot of travelers to the region.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYuaIwOCpGU

3:DIARY BY URUGUAYAN STAFF

Every year in Japan, on March 3, both families and the community celebrate Hinamatsuri, also known as the Doll Festival or Girls' Day. During the Hinamatsuri each family decorates their home with Hina dolls, which wear a colorful kimono and enjoy their harmony with a good meal. The cherry blossom, which blooms during the spring and has become a symbol of Japan, is part of the decoration of a numerous set of Hina dolls arranged on various levels. The festival is not only celebrated with the family but also with the community, each one has its own way of celebrating it. The Hinamatsuri is a festival that all girls look forward to given the beauty that this day transmits.

It is said that the origin of the Hinamatsuri comes from the ancient tradition of Nagashi-bina in which bad luck was put on the back of some paper dolls and left floating in the river so that bad luck could be carried away with the current of the water.

As these days winter is ending and spring begins, people believed that by doing this they would be able to ward off diseases and enjoy good health. Over time this ancient tradition was mixed with the game of playing with dolls that only wealthy families could enjoy. The Hinamatsuri Festival that we celebrate today was born during the early years of the Edo Period (1603-1868).

The symbol of the Hinamatsuri are undoubtedly the Hina dolls. When the month of March approaches, families decorate their home with a collection of Hina dolls. They are placed on a tiered shelf covered with a piece of red cloth, and at the top are a pair of Dairi-bina (imperial couple) dressed in a beautiful kimono. The Dairi-bina originally represented the emperor and empress of Japan, that is why they dress in unique clothes for the noblest people of the court.

On the second floor there are three dolls (women) who wear red Hakama (skorts worn over kimono).

Five dolls representing children are placed on the third floor, each with a different musical instrument.

The expressions of the Hina dolls, their dresses, small pieces of furniture and some typical festival pieces such as Chinese lanterns make them look real. This work of Japanese crafts is something that you cannot miss if you visit Japan during these dates. You will never get tired of contemplating these types of scenes that reproduce, in miniature, the life of the imperial family and its court.