Adult Day

January 15th is Adult Day in Japan. It's a time when young men and women turning twenty get dressed up, go to their local shrine and have a party with friends. Utsunomiya is no different from anywhere else in the country this weekend. Plenty of kimono clad young women out strutting their stuff. Well, perhaps not strutting, but surely enjoying all the attention they get on Adult Day. It's kind of like the prom without the hassle of dating. You get to wear a great outfit, take lots of pictures, eat out somewhere nice and attend a party, often with speeches as is common here. The weather was sunny and clear which seemed to match the kimonos worn. I killed two birds with one stone today and did my first shrine visit of the year. Better never to be late, but… oh, well. Sunshine, pretty, happy young women in kimonos. It was a good day.