Bon Dancing at Jiyugaoka

Happy Dolls Day with a Surprise Guest from the Champion Team

Here are the prince and princess dolls for Hinamatsuri
(Girls' Festival).　Can you guess how old they are? They came to
my house on my first　Dolls Day. It means they are as old as I am. . . .
Although they've lost　several pieces of their furniture, weapons, and
music instruments, they　still are in a pretty good shape. The secret
of their beauty must be coming　from their long sleeps; they are out
of boxes only about a couple of weeks a year!


Prince and Princess with three ladies in waiting.

Looks like something special is happening among the dolls
this year . . . .

This year's special guest is Daisuke, the bobble doll, from
the Boston Red Sox!
Happy Dolls day, everyone. Enjoy, dear friends before you go back to
boxes for another year of beauty sleeps.

Summer dancing at Jiyugaoka

Wherever you travel in Japan, from Hokkaido in the north to Okinawa in the south, during the month of August, you'll see people dancing in circles around scaffolds when the sun goes down. Tonight in front of Tokyu Jiyugaoka Station, summer Bon dancing songs and drums were prompting trained as well as amateur dancers into the circle. If you happen to find a summer dancing circle, just join and follow the action of someone in front of you. Steps are usually very simple and easy to learn. Repeat the same action again again until the song and drum end. You'll become a local instantly. Have fun!