3rd of March is “Hina Matsuri“ or Doll Festival in Japan.
It is the festival to wish girls’ healthy growth and happiness, and households with a little girl, or girls in their families set up a display of Hina dolls clad in ancient aristocratic costume.
In Otaru, an event to visit and see various types of Hina dolls is held in some places like museums, shops, restaurants, cafes and so on during this period. There are some dolls as old as 400 years among those displays. A typical set of dolls in the photo is the exhibit in Otaru Museum.
Incidentally, there is a strange superstition on Hina dolls, which you will be on the shelf if you don’t put away your Hina dolls as soon as the festival is over. Once, I was lazy enough to have left my Hina dolls out for about a month after the festival. I have no idea if it is the reason that I still stay single, though.
A set of Hina Dolls at Otaru Museum
My Hina Dolls
